


I Don't Understand You

by IToldMyselfIdNeverWriteFanfiction



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: But look who's here, F/F, I also say slow burn but I'm impatient SO, I am a camp counselor- I feel like a little shame writing this, I say angst but not really, I thought about re-naming folks but honestly- fuck it, I told myself I'd never write fanfiction, Is anyone gonna find this bc of the tags?? Phat no, Lesbians, Summer Camp AU, They're just arguing cuz it's catra and adora, Uhhhh swiftwind is like a whole human in this, Y'know camp counselor lesbians, i have never written fanfiction, i'm literally so sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25872514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IToldMyselfIdNeverWriteFanfiction/pseuds/IToldMyselfIdNeverWriteFanfiction
Summary: CATRADORA SUMMER CAMP COUNSELOR AU!!WHy did I do this? I'm not sure either. How long will it be? Who knows. Basically, Catra and Adora work at a summer camp together and both of them do not fuckin understand why the other one is the way she is. Camp tings happen
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 200
Kudos: 282





	1. Chapter 1

Catra’s eyes shot open, waking up with a start from a dream she couldn’t remember. Rolling over, she grabbed her phone off of the sandy, wooden floor beneath her old rusty bed. The clock read 6:59 am. One minute before her alarm was supposed to go off. 

_Fucking figures._

Turning off the useless alarm, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and scratched her scalp, looking out the screened window at the misty sunrise. She took a deep breath and grabbed her speaker off of the wall charger, wrapping her hands around it to muffle its perky start-up sounds. Catra stood up and stretched, eyes still focused on the morning scene outside- and something else. _Someone_ else. A particular try-hard who was doing pushups in her pajamas in the wet grass. Catra shook her head and turned away, opening up YouTube and turning the volume to max with a smirk. Pushing her curtain aside, she walked into the main cabin, looking at the eight sleeping teenagers before her without mercy. Pressing play, she leaned against the main wall and simply waited.

“THE FITNESS GRAM™ PACER TEST IS A MULTISTAGE AEROBIC CAPACITY TEST THAT PROGRESSIVELY GETS MORE DIFFICULT AS IT CONTINUES-!”

The screams from her campers alone could have woken up the entire camp. Catra was more than entertained. 

“I HATE YOU!”

“CATRA WHAT THE _FUCK!_ ”

“Ey! Language!” Catra reprimanded, still amused by the chaos.

Some of her campers had already accepted their fate and were now climbing out of rusty bunks and sleepily grabbing their toiletries, while others tried desperately to pretend they were still asleep. 

“THE 20 METER PACER TEST WILL BEGIN IN 30 SECONDS. LINE UP AT THE START. THE RUNNING SPEED STARTS SLOWLY, BUT GETS FASTER EACH MINUTE YOU HEAR THIS SIGNAL-!”

With a smirk, Catra padded over to one of her campers who was laying with her pillow over her ears, trying desperately to go back to sleep amidst the mayhem. Grabbing the textured, metal frame with both hands, she began to shake the living daylights out of the bunk bed.

“MAYAAAAAAAA IT’S TIME TO WAKE UPPPPPP! MAAAYYYAAAAAAAAA!” Catra shrieked over the noise of the speaker and other general screaming. 

“A SINGLE LAP SHOULD BE COMPLETED EACH TIME YOU HEAR THIS SOUND. DING! REMEMBER TO RUN IN A STRAIGHT LINE, AND RUN AS FAST AS POSSIBLE-!”

“I CAAAAAAANNNNNN’TTTTTT” Maya whined, pillow still over her face. “It’s so hottttttt and Carrie takes all the toast at breakfastttttt! I just want to sleep forever!” 

“Tough, dude! Sometimes you just gotta get to that toast first!” Catra remained near shaking the bolts out of the ancient bunk bed. 

“THE SECOND TIME YOU FAIL TO COMPLETE A LAP BEFORE THE SOUND, YOUR TEST IS OVER. THE TEST WILL BEGIN ON THE WORD START-!”

The stubborn girl lay stiff in her bunk- still refusing to so much as move. 

“MAYA I SWEAR TO GOD! WE’RE GOING TO BE LATE TO FLAG!” 

“I’ll get up if you give me an extra minute in the shower?” Maya said finally, brain officially shaken to shit. 

“I’ll think about it.” 

“THE TEST WILL BEGIN ON THE WORD START. ON YOUR MARK, GET READY, DING!”

“I’ll take it.” The teenager crawled out of bed, still very disoriented. Most of her cabin-mates had already abandoned the cabin in favor of the bathhouse. 

Catra chuckled and looked at her phone to see a text from Mermista reading: “catra. shut the fuck up”. 

  
  
  


What a beautiful morning.

  
  
  


_________________________________________________________________________

  
  


Adora always preferred to wake her campers up in the calmest environment possible to ensure they would start their day on a positive note. After working out in the unit common area, she returned to her cabin, shutting the door behind her as quietly as possible. She grabbed her speaker and turned it up about a quarter of the way, searching for her “Shut The Fuck Up, Classical Music Is Cool” playlist before pressing play and walking out to greet her campers.

“Good morning, guys! It’s nice and cool this morning!”

The teenagers woke up with varying levels of success- some sitting up immediately, while others rolled over to face away from the source of the noise. 

“G’morning, Adora.” Said one, rubbing sleep from her eyes and climbing down from her bunk. 

“Good morning, Clara! How’d you sleep?”

The girl shrugged. “Well I guess. Cabin four was being SO loud again.”

Adora clenched her fists.

“Yeah, I’ll talk to Catra about that today. It _is_ getting a little out of hand. I’ll deal with it though- don’t go picking fights with anyone in cabin four, okay?”

Clara nodded and went to search for toiletries.

Unfortunately, as if she had summoned the devil herself, blood curdling screeches layered over the pacer test audio began to blare throughout the unit. Adora swore she could hear Catra’s cackling from her own cabin. Adora narrowed her eyes and went to gently wake the rest of her campers.

“Hey guys! Remember we’re sweeping after breakfast today, so don’t leave with the rest of the unit!” 

Her classical music playlist simply _could not_ compete with Catra’s own special brand of hell. She tried to turn it up a few notches, but to no avail. Annoyed, she just turned it off and grabbed her own toiletries and flip flops, heading to the bathhouse. 

The wet grass outside brushed up softly against her ankles, soaking her feet entirely and leaving a nice layer of dirt, plants, and small bugs. Most people are annoyed by the sensation, but Adora found an odd sense of pride at the grime- it made her feel like she was being productive. 

She walked past her own cabin and stopped short in front of cabin two, which was suspiciously quiet. Adora was surprised that Glimmer hadn’t marched up to cabin four to raise hell for being annoying- or for just being Catra really. In fact, Glimmer’s entire cabin was dark. Adora shook her head and walked up the short steps, knocking softly. No response. Carefully, she stepped inside, looking at the eight teenagers- still fast asleep. With a sigh, she pushed Glimmer’s curtain to the side and stepped into the counselor’s room. The pink-haired girl lay sprawled on the counselor bunk, snoring softly. Adora shook her shoulder, calling her name gently and increasing intensity until the counselor woke up with a start. Glimmer sat straight up, eyes locking onto Adora first and then onto the travel clock she kept on the windowsill. 

“Shit. SHIT!”

Glimmer flew out of bed and past Adora into the main cabin, yelling all sorts of things, panic obvious in her eyes. 

“IT’S SEVEN TWENTY! I NEED YOU READY AT SEVEN FORTY! WE’RE SETTING BREAKFAST! GO! GO! GO!”

Adora decided to evacuate the cabin before she was trampled by Glimmer’s kids, returning once again to her journey to the bathhouse. Yanking open the creaky door, she stepped inside and found herself face to face with none other than Catra herself. 

“Adora.” Catra looked incredibly unimpressed with Adora’s presence, which irked the blonde unimaginably. 

“Catra.” Adora tried to return her cool gaze, but her face read like an open book. She was pissed. 

Adora was going to look her in the eyes and tell her that she was being inconsiderate. Tell her that she’s lazy. Tell her that she’s nearly impossible to work with. Adora was going to-

“Nice boxers.”

_What?_

Adora looked down at the plaid boxer shorts hanging loosely from her hips. 

“I-I’m sorry?”

Catra chuckled. “See ya ‘round, nerd.”

“Wait, Catra-!”

It was too late, the door had already slammed behind the Latina, leaving Adora in a big soup of confusing emotions. 

  
Why was she looking at her boxers?? Why was Adora so embarrassed? Why is she so _infuriating_?! What is going ON??


	2. The Breakfast Debates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Literally just the general chaos of camp breakfast with a little *angst* sprinkled in

“Yeah so- so basically, I’m an ancient dragon. I’ve been living under the earth for centuries waiting to come out, right? I’m in human form right now though because I have to go undercover at this summer camp to- to stop something evil. I can’t tell you what it is though because I have to keep it a secret-”

Adora blinked slowly at the 10 year old girl in front of her who was rather enthusiastically telling her tale while shoveling off-brand cereal between two missing front teeth. 

“Wait okay- so you’re the last of your kind?” Adora was having a hard time processing the complicated timeline so early in the morning. “Is that lonely?”

The little girl nodded dramatically. “My siblings were killed during the battle of Ghailis by the ancient evil dragons- I was the only survivor and I had to go- to go into hiding until I knew it was gonna be safe.”

“Oh...jeez…” 

Adora had literally never met this child before in her life.

“That’s stupid! You’re not a dragon! You’re lying!” A younger boy yelled across the table.

“I am not! You’re disrespecting the last dragon of Eskis! You’ll pay for your words!” 

“That’s so _dumb_! You’re a liar!”

“Hey! Hold on!” Adora looked at the both of them with a grin. “How do you know dragons aren’t real?”

The boy was obviously not expecting this question from Adora. He stopped dead in his tracks, floundering around for words. “I-I I just do! Magic and stuff isn’t real! My dad says so!” 

He crossed his arms. 

With a soft chuckle, Adora leaned forward, making a show of looking around the mess hall as if she was afraid someone would hear what she was about to say. She looked at the seven children before her, all of them absolutely transfixed and waiting anxiously to see what would happen next. 

“What would you do,” Adora began with a smile, “if I told you I was a magical warrior?”

The table sat in stunned silence. Each kid’s jaw dropped into a silent O. 

“...do you have powers?” Another little boy stared at her with stars in his eyes. 

“I grow into a magical eight foot tall woman! With a magic sword!” Adora whispered excitedly.

“A sword?! That’s SO cool!!” 

  
  


This, of course, was bullshit- but Adora wouldn’t stand for kids crushing other kids’ spirits- no matter how weird or confusing the subject was. 

Her table moved away from the magic debate to discuss what kind of superpowers they wanted and what they would do with them. Adora laughed and engaged in conversation, while simultaneously pushing the breakfast on the table on them to ensure they actually ate something that morning. 

  
  
  


Across the mess hall, Catra was moderating a very serious debate. 

“The fact that you think that is _incredibly_ telling! I mean imagine having a brain cell! _You_ sure can’t!” 

“You don’t get to claim some sort of intellectual high ground because you can’t handle the fact that cereal is a _soup_!” 

“IT DOESN’T HAVE A BROTH! NO ONE EATS RAW CHICKEN AND NOODLES AND THINKS ‘AH YES! CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP! MY FAVORITE!’”

“WHERE’S YOUR PROOF? WHERE’S THE SURVEY? THE CENSUS? WHERE’S THE _DATA_ , SOFIA?”

“WHERE IS THE BROTH-!”

“Oooooohhhkay!” Catra leaned forward, casually diffusing the rising tension. “Let’s take a recess, guys. Let’s cool off. Next topic up for debate: sushi. Burrito or no?”

All seven kids immediately sat straight up, hands flying wildly, all of their opinions overlapping as they tried to fight for the spotlight. 

“Hey...Catra- can I talk to you for a sec?”

Catra whipped around to see Adora looking down at her, obviously a little agitated. But in a sort of cute way. 

...wait what?

“-it’s about where the starch is! Cube rule- look it up!”

“None of us have our phones, dumbass!”

“Hey!” Catra whipped back around to face the table. “Watch your language!”

“Sorry!” the guilty camper yelped, obviously caught up in the moment. 

Catra turned to face Adora once more, running a hand through curly, brown hair. “Uh...sure? I guess? One sec.”

The counselor turned to face the table one more time, looking at the CIT sitting in front of her.

“Ey Frosta can you watch the table for a sec while I talk to Adora?”

The teenager looked absolutely overjoyed at the opportunity for power. “Yes! Of course!”

“Frosta,” Catra chided. “Keep it calm.”

Looking at her guiltily, Frosta nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Catra shuddered at the title before peeling herself off of her plastic chair and following Adora out the door. 

Adora led her out from underneath the lazy mess hall fans and onto the stuffy back porch, rolling up the sleeves of her blue, high school soccer t-shirt in response to the stifling humidity. Catra was most certainly _not_ staring at her exposed biceps. 

“What did you need from me?” Catra said casually.

“Listen, I don’t know how else to say this but...your whole cabin has been really loud this past week, and my girls are having a hard time sleeping.”

“Is that all? I’ll tell ‘em to can it- no big.” Catra moved to walk back into the building. 

Adora clenched her fists, frustrated that her point was not getting through. 

“Your kids aren’t the only problem- _you’re_ too loud! _You’re_ too disorganized! You have _got_ to be a good influence on these kids!”

Catra bristled, turning back around. “What are you trying to say, _Adora_ ? Am I not _perfect_ enough for you?”

“No-! I just-!” Adora was searching for the right words, but she couldn’t seem to find them.

Catra closed the distance between the two, cornering the taller girl against the peeling railing behind them. “Are you trying to tell me I’m a bad counselor? Spit it out!”

Were those tears in her eyes?

“You’re just-! You’re impossible!” Adora yelled, still incredibly flustered by her proximity to her coworker. “You’re always goofing off with your kids, scaring the daylights out of them every morning with that GOD AWFUL music, messing up the schedule-! And WHAT was with this morning? What- what- I just...I don’t GET you!”

Catra moved forward towards Adora, looking very ready to absolutely deck her on the spot- but before she could open her mouth, a very frazzled Bow sprinted out onto the back porch. 

“Catra! We need you inside like RIGHT NOW!” 

Catra, shocked momentarily out of her anger, spun around to face the male counselor. “What’s going on?” 

“One of your girls like...smacked the shit out of another girl.” 

“Jesuchristo.” Catra muttered, sprinting inside- panic clear in her eyes. 

  
  
  
  
  


Twenty minutes later, Adora was standing at the front of the mess hall, watching as her campers swept up the mess from breakfast. She still felt sort of bad for what she said to Catra before- it was all she could think about. She never meant for it to sound so harsh, she was just so flustered...for a number of reasons. Her mind kept flashing back to that image of Catra running her hands through her hair. Adora shook her head violently, trying to dispel all the confusing thoughts crowding in her brain .

“Adora...is this good?” One of her campers looked at her, broom in hand, as her other cabin-mates slowly started to make their way back towards their counselor. 

The old, wood flooring looked a little dusty- but when had it not? The blonde couldn’t really see any chunks of egg or obvious mess, so she decided they were probably fine. 

“Yeah, you’re good! Just put up the brooms and then you can head to first activity.” 

The campers let out various sighs of relief as they walked to the broom closet- all chatting about a medley of unrelated topics. Adora watched them as they shoved the brooms in the disorganized excuse for a closet, still talking about what sounded like absolute gibberish before making their way towards the door. One girl seemed to sort of trail behind the group however- not talking near as much as she normally did. 

“Hey, Clara,” Adora quietly pulled her aside. “Are you doing okay?”

The dark-haired girl fidgeted quietly. “...yeah! I’m...I’m okay.”

Adora called bullshit, but she wasn’t about to make her more upset than she already was. 

“Okay…” said the counselor. “You know I’m here if you need anything, right?”

“Yeah...of course!” Clara still looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable.   
  


“Ok...well get going to first activity before they call to tell me you’re missing.” Adora laughed. 

Clara chuckled, smiling at the counselor before jogging after her cabin-mates. 

  
  


Adora stretched and stared up at the slow-moving ceiling fans, taking a deep breath and holding it for a few seconds before relaxing. She should find Catra and apologize. Picking her backpack off of the dusty floor, she slung it over a shoulder and walked towards the restrooms, anxious already. She made it no further than the kitchen when she heard voices coming from around the corner. 

“...I told you to get to the toast before Carrie, not RKO her!”

“I didn’t RKO her!”

“I was told that you smacked her.”

  
  


The voice was very obviously Catra’s, and the other person was most likely her disgraced camper. Adora felt like she shouldn’t have been listening to the conversation, but at the same time, she didn’t move away. 

“Yeah exactly. Not an RKO.”

“I just-” Catra sighed. “Why?”

“I told you- she took my toast! It’s been all week without toast- I can’t do this!”

“Maya. I _know_ you. Why did you really hit her?” 

  
  


There was a long silence- Adora inched closer just a little bit to make sure she wasn’t missing anything. 

“...she _did_ take my toast…”

“Okay...and?”

“...she was making fun of this girl...and it wasn’t cool. So I told her to shut up, but she wouldn’t and I...I guess I just lost control.”

“Is this girl your friend?”

“...yes? ...no? ...maybe? Hopefully? I-I don’t know. It’s all very confusing.” 

Catra chuckled. “I’ve been there.” 

“I’m really sorry, Catra. I didn’t mean for it to be such a big _thing_.”

“Are you sorry you hit her, or are you sorry I have to deal with it?”

  
  


The girl thought for a minute. 

“She deserved it.” She finally replied. 

Catra actually laughed out loud. Adora decided she rather liked Catra’s laugh. 

“Listen,” Catra began. “You and I are pretty similar. We do things our way, but that isn’t always super popular. Having that kind of reputation can kind of suck, but it just means you’ve got to work harder to change people’s minds- if you’re into that. Smacking other campers isn’t doing a whole lot for your cred, kid.”

Adora could hear the younger girl laugh. 

“I’ll talk to Angella about your consequences, but in the meantime, go apologize to Carrie- and no more fights!”

“I’m not apologizing if I don’t mean it.”

“I never said to apologize for defending your friend. Explain to Carrie why she was in the wrong, but also maybe apologize for smacking her glasses into next week. You never have to concede your values to satisfy others, but battle with your words, rather than your fists.”

Maya sniffled. 

“Thank you, Catra.”

“Anytime, kid. Now get to first- you’re already super late!”

  
  


Adora heard the shuffling of footsteps coming her way and panicked, freezing in place. 

Maya rounded the corner, jumping when she saw her. “Oh-! Hey Adora!”

“Hey, Maya! Have a great day!

“Thanks! You too!” The redhead ran out the door, anxious to get out into the fresh air. 

Catra rounded the corner and stiffened, turning her head away almost instantly. “I thought you were teaching archery this period.”

“No...I’m...I’m on picture duty.”

There was a heavy silence before Adora spoke again. 

“What’re you doing this period?”

“Kitchen. Unless you think I’m too incompetent for that, because you are _more_ than welcome to-”

Adora cut her off. “No, Catra I’m so sorry. I’m really really sorry. I didn’t mean what I said- I swear! I just got so flustered and-”

Adora closed the distance between the two of them, this time catching Catra off guard. The shorter girl looked like she was about to bolt any second. 

“Listen. I know we’re complete opposites. I get it. But I mean, we’ve had like three conversations max- I just really don’t know anything about you. I-I don’t know what makes you tick yet.”

“Are you...comparing me to a clock?”

“I promise to learn though!” Adora bulldozed forward with the metaphor, not acknowledging Catra’s comment. “Can we promise to try to understand each other?”

Catra blinked at her, a slight blush forming on her cheeks before she turned away.

“I’ll think about it.” Catra walked into the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ay fools! If you're like "hot damn you really updated twice in one night, huh?" YOU BET YOUR SWEET BIPPY I DID. IT IS LITERALLY 4:43 am and I was GONNA wake up early to go running, but now I'm sort of maybe regretting ALL of my choices. 
> 
> ANYWAYS. I am still an attention whore so uhhhhhh if you liked it like...*at all*
> 
> ...lemme know thankyousomuch


	3. Man, What Are Boats?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is stupid. I'm stupdi. It's a vibe

“Okay uh...canoeing basics…”

Catra hoped she didn’t look as clueless as she was feeling. Twenty kids sat on the creaky dock in front of her, tight lifejackets squishing against their cheeks and making them look like helpless little turtles. She’d laugh if she wasn’t trying desperately to BS through the canoeing lesson. Catra shot Mermista an “SOS” look, but the swimmer was too busy avoiding her gaze as she didn’t want to teach it either (though she was absurdly more qualified). 

“...right...so...Mermista! How do we hold the paddle correctly?”

Mermista whipped around, looking incredibly betrayed.

“...take it away, _Captain_!” Catra grinned at her like an asshole. 

“Ugghhhh finee.” Mermista took a deep and dramatic breath before continuing. “Mkay, so you’re gonna put your hand on that top handle there- that’s called the T Grip. Then put your other hand on the middle there- that’s called the shaft. For those of you thinking what I know you’re thinking- stop it. Put the paddle on your head like this- you’re gonna want your arms to make a 90 degree angle- that way you know your hand spacing is good or whatever…” 

Catra zoned out much later than she had expected, but considering how little she actually knew about canoeing while teaching a canoeing class, she probably should have listened longer. Adora’s weird apology wouldn’t leave her head- it was all she could think about all day. Well- save for the small detail that one of her campers had absolutely smacked the shit out of one of Glimmer’s campers. There is NO way that would go over well during the staff unit meeting that night. 

Catra’s brain went _straight_ back to the “Adora issue”. Adora was right- the two of them had only talked like three times. She could not figure out why Adora was so apologetic and desperate to understand her. Catra knew she was a piece of shit, and she owned it. Plus, she’d been avoiding the blonde all summer so that she wouldn’t have to deal with an actual conversation with her. Something about the way Adora smiled made her a little woozy, and Catra wasn’t prepared to let her guard down so early in the summer. 

After Mermista finished explaining canoeing basics and splitting the kids up into groups of three- with the exception of the two older boys that volunteered to be by themselves- she and Catra helped them into canoes and watched them paddle around the small lake- the children only _occasionally_ whacking the shit out of each other with the paddles. 

  
  


“Mermista?” 

The two counselors sat on the rickety dock, feet in the water.

“Hm?”

“Why, of all people, am I teaching fucking _canoeing?_ ”

Mermista chuckled. “Sean was supposed to teach it with me, but Angella doesn’t exactly trust him with boats after the staff training...incident…”

“Who the fuck is Sean?”

“Fucking _Sea Hawk_ or whatever the fuck he calls himself. Do you remember the bonfire we had in the middle of the lake during staff training?”

“Yeah- that was...interesting…”

“Yeah those were _boats_.”

“Oh shit? Daamn.” Catra cackled. “I bet Angella shit herself.”

“Yeah almost. So anyways I chose you cuz like sometimes you _are_ kind of a piece of shit but you’re funny. Also I feel like we vibe. You’re chill.”

“Was that a compliment? Thank you?”

“Damn you could say I’m cool too or whatever.”

Catra laughed. “You’re _so_ cool.”

“Thank you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Adora! Have I given you the TO schedule yet?” The head counselor held out a sheet from her stack of papers, half-running down the trail towards the athlete. 

“No- I don’t think so. Thanks, Lonnie!” Adora took the paper, snapping it onto her clipboard.

The blonde had been walking on the trail from main camp to the barn, checking to make sure there weren't any stragglers who had gotten lost on the way. 

“Mhm.” she grunted. “Have you seen Catra or Netossa? I don’t think they have their schedules yet.”

“I think Netossa is teaching sports and games this activity...Catra is…”

“A nuisance.” Lonnie finished.

“...nooo! I think...I think she means well.” Adora attempted to defend the girl, but even she didn’t know if she believed what she was saying.

Lonnie fixed Adora with the most judgmental glare she had ever experienced. “Right. Yeah okay. I’ll believe that.”

Adora stood there awkwardly- unsure where to go in the conversation.

“I think Catra’s in canoeing or something.” Said Lonnie, remembering just how much she had to get done before lunch. “Take a look at your schedule and if you notice anything wrong, text me!”

Lonnie half jogged down the connecting trail, throwing a friendly wave towards Adora before disappearing into the trees. 

Adora was _distressed_. Catra had been on her mind all day for several reasons- most of which she couldn’t even process. She wished she could just sit down with her and have a solid conversation. She hated being so confused. 

With a sigh, she looked down at her clipboard, eyes scanning over the time off schedule. After a minute or so she found her name scrawled next to the 9:30-11pm slot. It was filled in for the entire week. That shouldn’t be bad- it would certainly give her time to get a slushee from the nearby gas station and relax before she went back to her kids. She looked closer at the schedule- trying to figure out who had the same time off- maybe they could hang out. Lord knows she could use some interaction with someone over the age of fourteen. Finally, she found it. 

  
  


Catra. 

Fucking _Catra_.

  
  


Shit. 

  
  
  
  


As soon as Catra saw who she would be sharing time off with, she knew exactly what she was going to do for that hour and a half- and it would _NOT_ include Adora. She also knew that she would have to avoid Adora for the rest of the day- just in case Adora asked her to hang out and she forgot to speak and agreed to something she didn’t intend to. Catra just had to avoid her for...nine more hours.

Piece of cake...right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so I've decided that I DO in fact want to continue and finish this. However, I want to just kind of get it over with so I don't forget it, so I will be on the fucking GRIND I think in the future to fuckin finish this shit. 
> 
> ALSO sorry there wasn't much in this chapter- it was a little shorter and less confrontational haha


	4. What is HAPPENING

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra is very bad at conflict resolution, but it's all Adora wants to do.

In hindsight, Catra should have known how hard it would be to avoid someone as persistent as Adora. Throughout the entirety of the 45 minute lunch period, Catra excused herself to the bathroom maybe eight times, prompting a sit-down with Scorpia, who was concerned she had a UTI. Catra lied of course and spewed some bullshit about hydration to calm her down, and then promptly stood up and hid in the bathroom for a ninth time when she saw Adora approaching. 

After lunch, she gathered all of her children as quickly as possible, telling them that they were hiding from Adora’s cabin, and that they needed to escape before cabin one could see them. Catra’s children, being the interesting kids they were, questioned literally nothing and agreed almost immediately. Adora, who just wanted to have a civil conversation with Catra, walked out of the mess hall with her kids just in time to see Catra and her entire cabin of gremlin children sprinting into the wilderness. The blonde yelled something after her about not running on the trails, but no one in cabin four even so much as looked back. Unfortunately for Catra, challenging a girl like Adora only meant that she was gonna try harder. 

  
  
  


“Alright guys! This time is for sleeping, or reading, or cards, or really whatever- so long as you’re quiet and stay in the cabin. I’m gonna run to the bathhouse for a sec, but by the time I’m back, I want everyone in their own bunk and quiet. Sound good?”

Catra’s campers nodded an affirmative, already unlacing boots and tennis shoes and crawling into bunks. The counselor gave a thumbs up and stepped outside the cabin, clunking down the short stairs in her hiking boots. The sun was high in the sky and BOY was it hot today. The heat wouldn’t feel near as terrible if it weren’t for the godforsaken humidity that was doing  _ awful _ things to her hair. She walked through the tall grass, plants and bugs tickling the skin above her sock line as she walked past Mermista’s cabin to the old, wooden bathhouse. She yanked open the creaky door, stepping inside and walking past the sinks and to the individual stalls to  _ actually _ use the bathroom instead of playing Word Connect on her phone for as long as possible.

Afterwards, as she was washing her hands, she heard the door creak open behind her. Catra looked up into the mirror and made startling eye contact with, once again, Adora. The blonde looked equally as surprised as Catra was, neither of them speaking for over 30 seconds. Just staring. In a panic, Catra defaulted to the thing she did best: be an asshole. 

“Hey, Adora…” she purred, flicking the water from her wet hands into Adora’s face. She bumped into the blonde’s shoulder purposefully on her way out the door, not so much as turning around to see the state of absolute panic and confusion she had left the other counselor in. 

On Catra’s way back to her own cabin, she replayed the scene over and over in her head. She was such an idiot. WHY did she do that?? She surely had only made the situation worse. Luckily for her, her campers had obeyed her wishes and were all in their bunks. Catra took off her boots and grabbed the pillow off of her bed, throwing it onto the floor of the main cabin and laying down on it in a huff.

“...Catra?” one of her campers asked.

“Hm?”

“Why are you laying on the floor?”

“Because I want to. I’m going to nap.”

“But why the floor?” asked another. 

“I like it.”

Catra’s true motivations for sleeping on the cabin floor were definitely closer to making sure that she would be more aware if one of her kids tried to leave the cabin, but in all honesty, the floor wasn’t too uncomfortable. She lazily reached for her phone, setting an alarm for 35 minutes- plenty of time to sleep if you tried hard enough. Her phone buzzed. 

“Hey- it’s Adora. I was just wondering if we could talk?”

Catra rolled her eyes and put her phone down- not bothering to even open the message. She tried to close her eyes, but the text felt like it was burned into the back of her eyelids.  _ Fuck _ Adora for taking away her nap time. If overthinking the situation prevented her from falling asleep, there would be hell to pay. Luckily, Catra’s terrible sleep schedule persevered.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Adora was somewhere between confused and angry. Catra wasn’t exactly being discreet about avoiding her, and then she decides to be both seductive  _ and _ an asshole when Adora finally gets within five feet of her. What the  _ hell _ is going on?? 

The blonde sat on her bunk, curtain tied up so she could supervise her kids who were, for the most part, passed the fuck out in their bunks. Her rotating fan hummed in the corner, various blankets and ponytails flapping in the breeze as it moved. She had tried to lay down and sleep, but the ‘ _ Catra situation _ ’ was stressing her out too much. With a determined breath, Adora stood up suddenly, slipping on her boots and lacing them up. She stepped out into the main cabin and carefully opened the door, quietly closing it behind her so as not to wake up any of her kids. The counselor marched across the unit, very ready to  _ make _ the brunette have an open and honest talk with her. 

Something about Catra made Adora feel so...weak, and Adora couldn’t figure out if she liked it or not. The idea itself almost made her laugh. She could probably bench press Catra if she wanted, so why did she make her feel like this? Something about her eyes- heterochromatic pools of gold and turquoise...her almost predatory smile. That one canine...

...was she in love with Catra?? 

No. That’s stupid. She’s just really pretty. 

Right?

Adora walked up the steps of cabin four and opened the door, ready to raise hell. She stopped short. Three sleepy campers blinked down at her- and there on the floor lay Catra, fast asleep. The brunette was curled up in a ball on the sandy, wooden floor, her face pressed into a maroon pillow. Her eyebrows were scrunched up in some indecipherable emotion, twitching every so often. Adora felt the strong urge to crouch down and rub her back, to make sure she was okay. 

No, Adora, that’s weird. Stop that. 

Adora felt her face redden, like she was seeing something she wasn’t supposed to. Catra looked  _ so _ adorable. She’d never really thought that someone as abrasive as Catra could look so soft and almost helpless. Adora wanted to protect her. From what? She had no idea. 

“...Adora…?”

Adora jerked out of her trance, having totally forgotten about  _ all _ of Catra’s campers being in the room. 

“Hi- yeah uh...can you tell Catra I stopped by? I don’t want to wake her.” 

“Uh...sure…?” One red-headed camper blinked down at her from the top bunk, squinting in suspicion. 

Wasn’t that the camper that smacked that other girl? Adora had momentarily forgotten about that. Catra must have her hands full today. 

With one last guilty glance at Catra’s sleeping form, Adora left the cabin, walking slowly through the scorching hot open field. She had a lot to think about. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Strong arms wrapped around Catra’s waist, soft lips peppering her neck with kisses. Catra felt herself melt into the touch, looking desperately for the face of her lover. No matter which way she turned, she couldn’t see a face, just a flash of blonde hair. She couldn’t speak or call out. All she could do was close her eyes and just exist in someone else’s arms for as long as she could. 

“BWAA! BWAA! BWAA! BWAA! BWAA!”

Catra sat straight up, immediately turning off the startling-ass alarm. She almost felt the ghost touch of the girl from her dreams on her skin. She felt empty. 

“Catra...you good?” A camper called.

“Yeah...need to change that alarm. Always scares me awake.”

“It’s HORRIBLE!” Another camper yelled, also startled into consciousness. 

Rubbing her waist softly one last time, Catra stood and stretched. 

“Alright guys! It’s time to wake up! We gotta be at the flagpole in five minutes!”

Her campers grumbled and made a sort of half-effort at sitting up, even though most of them were already awake. 

“Come ON guys! I said I’d let you sleep a little longer if you promised to get going faster! Let’s goooooooo!” 

About half of them began to move towards the edges of their beds, perhaps thinking about climbing down  _ someday _ .

“Fine.” Said Catra, walking towards her speaker. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Adora stretched and walked out into the main area of her cabin, ready to wake up her kids. As soon as she opened her mouth to do so, however…

“IT’S GONNA TAKE A LOT TO DRAG ME AWAY FROM YOUUUU!”

There was no way that Catra’s shitty Walmart speaker should be able to make that much noise, but miraculously, it always did. 

“THERE’S NOTHING THAT A HUNDRED MEN OR MORE COULD EVER DOOOO!”

Adora’s kids sat straight up in their beds, fear in their eyes. 

“I BLESS THE RAINS DOWN IN AAAAFRICAA!”

Adora was somewhere between wanting to deck Catra or kiss her, and her brain was having a really hard time keeping up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't been writing as much cuz I tried to change my sleep schedule, but that didn't really work out.


	5. Jort Supremacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gay

“Wait! You have a crush on Adora??”

“Scorpia, that is not at all what I said.”

  
  


The younger girls’ counselor looked at her with stars in her eyes, happy that her best friend might have  _ finally _ found love. She was already planning the wedding. 

The two sat in the shade of the trees, half-supervising an intense game of mao on the grass before them. A gentle breeze blew through the leaves around them, chilling the sweat on their necks.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Stop that.” Catra tried to hide her blush with a snarl, but it didn’t exactly work. 

“Oh! We can go on double dates! Perfuma and I were actually planning to go to the botanical gardens and-!”

“How’re you and Perfuma doing?” Catra cut her off mid-sentence. She saw an opportunity to change the subject and she all but leapt on it. 

“You’re...you’re actually asking?”

“Of course! I’m...I’m a great friend...”

Scorpia looked down with a smile, a blush spreading across her cheeks. 

“We’re really good! She’s...she’s just really great. She’s so nice and caring- and you can tell she really loves her kids, which is super cute!”

“She has what..? The nine year olds?”

Scorpia nodded.

“You have the ten year olds right? I feel like I don’t interact with any of the Thaymor counselors anymore.” 

“Yeah! Perfuma’s cabin is right next to mine,” Scorpia said with a dopey smile. “And you’re right- I feel like I haven't seen any of you Elberon counselors in  _ forever. _

“I’m glad that we were scheduled to work this period together. Card games class is a beautiful thing.”

“You’ve got that right! It’s so nice and peaceful-”

“-YOU CHEATED!”

“I DID NOT! THOSE ARE THE RULES!”

“LIAR!”

Catra groaned, dragging herself into a standing position and stomping over to the ring of bickering children. She had finally felt good about herself for being a good friend and asking Scorpia about her girlfriend, but in realizing that she felt pride in such a low bar, she felt like shit all over again. 

“Hey!” Catra leaned forward, dwarfing them in her shadow. “What’s going on?”

All of the campers froze, staring back up at the intimidating counselor. 

“Uhhh…” One little boy spoke up, both afraid and indignant. “...he’s just making up rules! It’s not fair! He’s cheating!”

Catra took a deep breath. “Is that true?”

“A rule of the game is that you get to make up a rule if you win! I won!” The other boy yelled. “Stop calling me a cheater!” 

“You  _ are  _ a cheater!”

“Hey!” Catra called again. “Let’s calm down. Is this true? Is this a rule?”

The other kids nodded silently, afraid. 

“Okay. Well, since it’s a rule, he’s not cheating, is he?”

“No but-! He is-! He’s cheating-! He’s-!” The first little boy began to cry- hot, angry tears running down muddy little cheeks. 

“I’m  _ NOT _ cheating!”

  
  


Oh fuck oh fuck he’s crying. This child is crying. Catra had no idea what to do. 

“Hey, hey. It’s okay! It’s not a big thing, it’s just cards.” Catra panicked, bending down a little to the boy’s height. 

“Tell him I’m  _ not _ a cheater!” The other kid persisted. 

Trying to hide her obvious impatience, Catra whipped towards the boy. “I think he _ knows _ . It’s  _ okay _ . Why don’t you guys finish your game?”

The first little boy wheezed, angry tears preventing him from speaking full words. He looked like he was about to scream. 

“Hey, man. What’s your name?” Catra bent down all the way so that they were eye to eye. 

“Jae.” He choked out, calming down a little bit at the attention. 

The other kids had gone back to their game, though they kept a watchful eye on the situation in front of them. 

“Hey, Jae. I don’t know if you know my name, but I’m Catra. Do you like trucks?”

The little boy shook his head violently, wiping the snot from his nose with the back of his hand. “Flowers.”

“You like flowers?”

He nodded.

“Do you see that counselor over there? The one with the short white hair? She  _ loves  _ flowers.” Catra’s impatience had disappeared, replaced by a sense of simultaneous panic and calm. “Do you want to sit with us and talk about flowers for a little bit?”

He nodded again, only sniffling quietly at this point. 

With a muffled sigh of relief, Catra stood up tall, stretching out her back, and walking the little boy over to where Scorpia sat. Thank God that worked. 

  
  
  
  


She stayed avoiding Adora for the rest of the day, though she could feel the blonde’s eyes on the back of her neck with every step she took. She had a very tense meeting with Angella during dinner about Maya and her whole...situation, which resulted in a lessened sentence of camp community service...which Catra had to supervise...so who was  _ really _ getting punished?

By the end of the day, she was pretty much at her wit’s end. She loved her kids dearly, but once it hit nine pm and another counselor came to supervise her cabin, she was  _ out _ the door and sprinting to where she had chained her bike. A peal of thunder sounded from far away, but Catra paid it no mind, instead awkwardly pedaling down the gravel road that would lead her into the small town nearby. 

By the time she made it onto the main road, the wind had started to pick up- warm gusts blowing just hard enough to make her unsteady. The counselor closed her eyes for a split second, smiling as she took in the moment. Summer storms had always been her favorite. Something about the way the wind and lightning crashed through the air just always made her more calm than anything else. Catra opened her mouth in a wide grin, pushing forward to her destination. 

The nearest gas station was two miles down the road. The distance wasn’t all that far, but it felt considerably longer when she was trying to fight mother nature to even stay on the pavement. She loved it though- she always did. Pulling up under the harshly-lit overhang, she chained her bike to the rack and stepped inside. The contrast between outside’s events and the incredibly uneventful gas station was almost hilarious. Besides the hum of the slushee machines and the faintest sound of the shitty elevator music they played over crackly speakers, it was pretty much dead quiet. Catra could use some dead quiet. 

She calmly wandered through the maze of aisles, weaving back and forth between walls of chex-mix and pringles until she arrived at her destination: the slushee machine. She grinned and stepped forward, arm thoughtlessly reaching to grab a cup when her hand met with another. Catra whipped toward the owner of the hand and looked up into blue eyes. 

“Stop fucking  _ following _ me!” Catra felt her face heat up.

Adora’s eyebrows scrunched together. “I didn’t follow you!”

“Whatever.” The brunette aggressively ripped a cup out of the holder, angrily filling it with cherry slushee.

“What is your deal, Catra?” Adora asked, eyebrows still squished in frustration. 

“What’s yours?” Catra grabbed a lid and snapped it over her cup, walking towards the register. Adora followed her. 

“Not a single interaction we’ve  _ ever _ had has made sense!  _ Nothing  _ about you makes sense!”

Catra paid for her drink, ignoring Adora and walking towards the door. Adora still pursued. 

“Talk to me!”

Catra whipped around to look at her, poised to yell something- but she hadn’t quite figured out what yet. She was surprised to see Adora holding back tears. Closing her eyes for a second, she turned away and pushed her way out the door and into the storm. 

“Catra, wait!” Adora called after her, but Catra just unchained her bike and hopped on, riding off into the darkness. 

  
  
  
  


The storm had picked up some serious momentum since Catra had left the gas station. Heavy rain and wind beat on all sides of her as she fought her way along the dark two-lane road. She wished for a second that she hadn’t left the gas station, but her pride took over pretty quickly. Catra’s heart hurt- but she couldn’t quite figure out why. Stubbornly, she pedaled forward, squinting to try to see into the dark abyss ahead of her. Lightning lit up the sky for a brief second, followed quickly by a loud crash of thunder. Catra liked summer storms, but for the first time in a while, she was scared. After a few minutes, she couldn’t tell if the wet on her cheeks was rain or tears. She felt incredibly stupid for crying- hated herself for it even. Catra was officially overwhelmed. 

A powder-blue pickup truck drove up next to her, keeping pace with her furious bike-riding. The headlights lit up the treacherous road ahead. Preparing to be catcalled or worse, Catra’s entire body tensed up. 

“CATRA!”

The brunette looked towards the pickup, squinting through the rain. A familiar blonde was in the driver’s seat, one hand on the steering wheel, the other one trying chaotically to open her passenger door. Adora looked panicky as she tried to keep her car from veering off the slippery road. 

“You don’t owe me anything!” Catra yelled back through tears. “I’m fine!”

With the wind howling as loud as it was, it was honestly a miracle they could hear each other. 

“Catra, get in the  _ fucking _ car!” Adora had never in her life looked so serious.

Lighting and thunder cracked across the sky, spooking the brunette once again. 

Catra slowed down her pace, slowly coming to a stop in the middle of the road. The rain beat on her thin frame as she shook, terrified. Adora stopped the car immediately, hopping out and throwing Catra’s bike under a tarp in her truck bed. Catra slowly crawled into the car, water rolling off of her in rivulets. The blonde climbed back into the driver’s seat, buckling her seatbelt and starting the pickup. She reached into the backseat and grabbed a towel, setting it on Catra’s lap.

“Here.”

  
  


They drove in silence for a while, just listening to the rain beating against the metal roof above them. 

“Do you care if I play music?”

Catra blinked, confused.

“...uh...what?”

“Can I play music?” Adora raised an eyebrow.

“Oh! Uh...yeah! I mean it’s your car...so…” Catra felt her face grow warm. She buried it in the towel. 

Adora smiled softly, shuffling her Spotify as they drove further into the storm. Folk music tinkled softly over the speakers.

  
  


“Adora?”

“Hm?”

“...thank you.”

Adora whipped her head around to look at the girl in her passenger seat in surprise. 

“...don’t...don’t look at me like that!” Catra went back to ‘drying her face’ with the soft towel. 

“Sorry…! Sorry...I just...wasn’t expecting that.”

Adora turned off of the main road onto a smaller gravel one. They ka-thumped along, headlights swinging every which way, illuminating bits and pieces of the woods around them. Finally, Adora pulled off onto another road and stopped the car in front of a wooden split-rail fence. A massive lake stretched on in front of them, broken glass flashing on its surface as lightning streaked across the sky. She turned off the car. 

“Did your slushee get washed away?” Adora joked.

Catra unbuttoned the oversized flannel she had been wearing, revealing a soggy slushee cup shoved down the front of her jean shorts. It looked like it had fallen apart in the rain, staining Catra’s tanktop and shorts a deep red. 

“There’s cherry slushee in my jorts.” 

Adora snorted loudly, trying incredibly hard to stop herself from laughing. She looked relieved as hell when Catra let out a nervous chuckle. 

“Here, we can share. I like cherry too.” A large cherry slushee sat in the cupholder between them, untouched. 

That was the final straw for Catra. Her entire facade dropped in an instant, her face twisting in pain as she began to sob. 

“Woah wait! I mean you can have the whole slushee! If you want?” 

“You’re so..! Fucking...stupid..!” Catra choked out, burying her head in her lap as she pulled herself into a ball. The smaller girl trembled in the car seat, still absolutely soaked. 

Adora tugged softly at the towel, waiting for Catra to release her grip on it. When she had won, she placed the towel over the counselor’s head and back, rubbing slowly and softly. 

“...I...I don’t know what’s going on...and I know we’re not like...close...but I’m always gonna be here for you. It’s gonna be okay...you’re okay...”

Catra cried harder. 

Adora, panicked, rubbed her back and head more vigorously- trying to simultaneously soothe and dry off the other girl. 

“...you’re so nice…!? And I’m...a trainwreck...and-” 

The blonde cut the other counselor off with a hug, leaning over the center console and squeezing her gently. 

“...I think you’re really cool.”

Adora immediately fucking hated herself for that one. What a fitting sentence for this nice, emotional talk,  _ dumbass _ .

“Oh yeah?” Catra choked, a laugh cutting through her crying.

“Yeah uh...I mean, you’re a really good counselor- I can tell your kids really like you, which is really special…”

“...thanks...I really appreciate that.”

Adora nodded, still holding onto the girl. The girl she liked. The girl she liked that was absolutely eye-level with her boobs. 

If she let go now would she look like an asshole? She kind of didn’t want to let go. Was that bad? What if Catra didn’t want to be hugged anymore? What if she  _ never _ wanted the hug in the first place? Oh god oh god oh god.

Catra, meanwhile, was experiencing her first hug from someone that wasn’t Scorpia in about three years, and she was  _ living _ . Adora somehow managed to be simultaneously soft and firm, making Catra feel safer than she had ever felt. She could stay here forever. 

Adora was absolutely still panicking. 

  
  


Finally, Adora softly let go, leaning back into her seat. It was silent, save for the ever present storm.

“You’re really wet.”

“Oh?” Catra cocked an eyebrow, only hiccuping slightly now. 

“Wait! No! I didn’t…! I uh...I didn’t mean..!” Adora’s face went strawberry, returning to the awkwardly intense back rub she had started on earlier. 

Catra was amused and confused, but at this moment, she didn’t mind either. 

“Here...I uh...I have some dry clothes...” The counselor grabbed a hoodie and sweats from her backseat, handing them to the brunette. “They might be a little big on you, but…”

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, ‘course..! I can like...close my eyes or something if you want to change?” 

“We’re both girls, aren’t we?” Catra took off her shirt. 

Adora really didn’t know where to look, so she opted for a kind of look-straight-forward-like-a-deer-in-headlights-kind-of-vibe. Her face was probably  _ radiating _ heat by now. She wondered for a moment if the red slushee stain extended to the other girl’s underwear. The intrusive thought was met with much disdain from the rest of the murky thoughts clouding her head. 

“...Adora…?” The Latina looked over at the girl, concerned.

Something about Catra being dressed in Adora’s old soccer sweats was making the athlete feel some type of way. 

“Y-yeah?”

“You...good?”

“...yeah...uh..here! Drink the slushee!” Adora shoved the slushee into Catra’s hands.

Catra blinked at her for a second before taking a sip. The brunette smiled- it had been awhile since the last time she had had one. She handed it back to Adora after a minute.

“Here- it’s yours too.”

Catra watched Adora drink for a little bit, head full of nothing but impure thoughts. 

“So,” she looked down at the hoodie. “You played soccer for Bright Moon?”

The Athlete nodded. “Yeah, I did cross country, swim, soccer, and track. Soccer and track are at the same time though, so that kind of  _ sucked  _ haha- but it was still really fun! How about you? Play any sports?”

“Haha! Yeah uhhh no. I was more of an art/music kid in high school.”

“Really? What instruments do you play?”

“Oh uh, piano, guitar, clarinet, and violin.”

“That’s SO cool! I really love classical music, but I’m really tone deaf.” Adora laughed. “You must be incredibly talented. I didn’t peg you for a classical-instrument kind of girl.”

“Oh? And what did you peg me as?”

“Gonna have to go with...death metal?”

This was Catra’s turn to laugh. “Death metal? Damn. My vibes must be  _ fucked _ .”

“They’re...something.”

“Wanna know what kind of music I thought _ you  _ would be into?”

“Hm?”

Catra pointed to the speaker next to her. “Not this fuckin country shit.”

“Hey!” Adora protested. “This is  _ folk _ music first off, and secondly, I love it! It always like...tells a story, and the harmonies are always SO cool! And-”

Catra didn’t realize she was staring. 

“What?” The blonde cocked her head.

“Nothing. Uhm...you in college?”

“Yeah haha...I run track for UE. You?”

“...I play first chair violin for UE.”

“Wait! Are you a second year?”

“Yeah. You?”

“...yeah! That’s crazy! Where are you living next year?”

“Desert West apartments? Off campus.”

“I’m in Woodlands like right down the street!”

“Woah...you’ll have to come say hi then!”

Adora paused. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, listening to the drumming of the rain and the soft folk music that seemed to float around them. The slushee was now finished, sitting sadly in the cupholder between them. Catra sat back in her seat and closed her eyes, trying to absorb every bit of the moment, every lyric, every sound. 

“Bicycles are made for rain, one hand on handlebars, one on my umbrella…” the speakers sang.

“...my ankles are getting wet but I can't help but steer for the deepest puddle…”

Catra couldn’t help but chuckle at how relevant the lyrics were. She wondered if it was on purpose. 

“...let the rain fall! Soak us to the bone! Nothing will sink our smiles!..”

“What song is this?” Asked Catra, eyes still closed.

“Made For Rain by The Good Lovelies. You might like them.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm.”

Catra wished she could have relaxed and taken in the moment for longer, but her brain had gone into overdrive. Should she just go for it? What did she have to lose? The new possible friend she had made twenty minutes ago?

“Hey...Adora?”

“Hm?”

“Do you listen to Girl In Red?”

“No…”

Shit.

“...but my ex girlfriend really liked her stuff I think.”

Catra choked. 

“Oh really?” She squeaked.

“Yeah...why?”

“No reason.”

Adora was really close to her now, mere inches between the two counselors. 

“So you’re uh...a uh…”

“A lesbian?” Finished Adora. “Yeah...is that a problem?”

“No! I’m uh...I am also that.”

Jesus Christ, Catra.

“Oh...really?”

“Yeah…”

The two sat in more silence, less comfortable this time. They kept sneaking glances at each other, both aware of how warm it was inside the truck. Adora finally broke the silence. 

“Okay listen, I’m sorry if this is like super weird or whatever, and I’m not trying to like jeopardize anything, but I think you’re like super cool and-”

Catra leaned forward and kissed her. 

Then Catra realized what she did.

“Oh fuck I’m sorry I uh-”

Adora laughed and pressed her nose against the brunette’s.

“Didn’t even let me finish.”

The blonde cupped the other girl’s face in her hands, kissing her again. Catra, after watching her soul leave her body, leaned forward into the kiss. They stayed like that for a while, both of them still a little unsure of how they got there or why it was happening. They were both just glad it was. 

“Oh, fuck! THE KIDS!” Adora flew back against the car door. 

“THE KIDS! WHAT TIME IS IT?!”

“10:50!”

“SHIT!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo BOY that was a long one. The pacing felt a little fucked to me so sorry about that, but it literally took so long bc there was so much I wanted in this chapter and yeah. So here it is. Ignore the pacing.


	6. Chimken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mermista will riot

Mermista had never seen such bullshit before.

  
  
  


“Ey Glimmer, you busy?”

Glimmer watched as one kid smacked another into the dirt with a dustpan. 

“Yeah I’m free- what’s up?

“Look over there.”

  
  


The swimmer pointed over to where Catra and Adora were sitting on a picnic table together, knees touching. They laughed as they talked, both of them fidgeting nervously. 

“...is Catra wearing Adora’s hoodie? It’s like...85 degrees.” The pink-haired counselor was confused. “Yesterday I swear Adora was going to murder her.”

“Uhm yeah. Catra was literally like... _actively_ avoiding her for the entire day.” 

The two counselors stared, unblinking at the couple- both of whom seemed to be blissfully unaware of the world around them. 

“You don’t think they’re like...together…? Right?” 

“WHAT?!” Glimmer yelled. The entire unit froze, kids pausing mid-ruckus to look at the cabin two and three counselors. 

Adora threw a concerned look in her direction. Catra just looked annoyed. 

“Adora hates Catra!” Glimmer hissed. 

“Doesn’t look like it.” Mermista chuckled. 

Glimmer looked like the literal Earth had just flipped upside down. 

“I mean...I know Adora is into girls...but I mean...what’re even the chances that Catra is too?” 

“Glimmer. At _this_ camp? VERY high.”

Glimmer blinked at the ground slowly- still processing all of this new information. Mermista checked her phone.

“Ugh. OKAY, ELBERON! IT’S TIME FOR FLAG! LET’S GO!” she looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Josie, put that broom- ALL of you with brooms- put them back. Dustpans count too, yes.”

The general cacophony died down to a dull roar as campers separated from each other and sought out their counselors. Catra and Adora gave each other a final awkward smile before separating. 

“Cabin two! Let’s go!”

“Cabin three...I’m over here...” Mermista waved her arm limply. 

“Does everyone have their water bottles? Inhalers if you have them? EpiPens if you have them? Yeah? Okay…one...two...three...four…” Adora was definitely the only _actually_ counting her children. 

“CABIN FOUR!” Catra screeched. “ROLL OUT!”

Pulled almost immediately out of her romantic stupor, Catra connected her phone to the small speaker swinging from her backpack as she walked towards the trail to main camp. With a smirk, she pressed play.

“DORA! BOOTS!

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” One of her campers screamed. “GOD, WHY?”

“COME ON DORA! DO-DO-DO-DO-DORA! DO-DO-DO-DO-DORA!

“CATRA PLEASE!!”

“DO-DO-DO-DO-DORA! DO-DO-DO-DO-DORA! DORA, DORA, DORA THE EXPLORER!”

Catra sang along with a grin, only fueled by the anguish of her children. 

“BOOTS AND SUPER COOL EXPLORADORA!!”

Adora stifled a laugh, following silently behind with her kids- all of whom looked either embarrassed for the cabin in front of them, or incredibly annoyed. 

“GRAB YOUR BACKPACK! LET’S GO!” 

Mermista was absolutely cackling from the back of the group. 

“JUMP IN! VAMANOS!” Catra screeched.

“YOU CAN LEAD THE WAA-AY! HEY! HEY!” 

“Catra I’m gonna lose my MIND!” screamed a camper. 

“DO-DO-DO-DO-DORA! DO-DO-DO-DO-DORA!”

“Thank God it’s almost over…”

“Wait wait wait!” Catra put her arms out and stopped the entire unit dead in their tracks in the middle of the trail. 

“SWIPER NO SWIPING! SWIPER NO SWIPING!”

“AW, MAN!” Mermista and Catra finished, absolutely wheezing. No one else but Adora and a few gremlins were _remotely_ amused. 

  
  


To everyone’s surprise, Elberon made it on time to flag. 

  
  
  


Since it was the camp’s cookout/campout night, after flag, Adora’s cabin went down to the kitchen and met with the selected cabins from the other units to decide on and collect food. Micah, the camp director’s husband, had stepped in as a Seaworthy counselor for the summer, so he and his sister, the assistant director, did most of the deciding. The final decision ended up being chicken foil dinners- a meal that always made Adora antsy as hell. Trusting children with cooking chicken in an open fire _never_ ends well. 

The Elberon cabin grabbed the crates of food and dishes and began the trek back to their unit, padding silently along the trail. 

“Uhm...Adora? Can I talk to you?”

Adora looked over to see Clara, struggling under a bag of frozen chicken and red in the face.

“Of course! ...you need help with that..?”

No, I got it. Thank you.” Clara grunted. 

“What’s going on?”

Clara took a deep breath. “So uhm...you know Maya from cabin four? And how she kind of um...hit Carrie from cabin two?”

“Yes..?”

“Well...it was kind of my fault...and I hear that Maya has to do community service...and I feel really bad, so uhm...can I please help her with it?”

“Wait- how is that _your_ fault?”

Clara’s face got even redder. “Carrie was...making fun of me and Maya told her to stop. And then she didn’t.” 

“Clara, other people’s unprovoked actions aren’t your fault. Also, we _did_ talk to Glimmer about Carrie, if that makes you feel any better. Maya’s not the only one in trouble.”

“I know...I keep telling myself that...but I still feel bad. Can you- can you just let me help? Please?”

“Uhh, well it’s not really up to me, but I can ask Angella for you.”

“Thank you so much! It’d make me feel a lot better.” 

“Yeah, of course.” Adora paused. “I didn’t know you and Maya were friends.”

Clara’s face got even redder. “I uh...I think we are? She’s really...complicated.”

Adora laughed. “I get that.”

“Isn’t it kind of the same with you and Catra?”

The blonde choked, avoiding any and all eye contact.

“Oh, look! We’re here!” She said, ushering her campers into the unit and ending the conversation with Clara on the spot. 

  
  
  


“So _YOU’RE_ telling _ME_ that we just walked _TWO MILES_ to main camp to do _FLAG_ and then come _RIGHT_ back?!”

Catra nodded. “Yeah pretty much.”

“And _THEN_ we’re gonna hike _ANOTHER_ two miles to _CAMP OUT?!”_

“Mhm.”

The camper looked absolutely distraught. 

“THAT’S TOO MANY MILES!”

“Look, kid. I don’t make the rules. Do you want s'mores or not?”

  
  


Adora set the boxes she’d been carrying down next to Catra on the picnic bench, immediately unpacking and organizing supplies by jobs and when they’d need them. Her kids set their supplies down in the area as well, watching Adora organize. 

“Wow...she’s strong.” Catra smirked.

Adora laughed. “I’d hardly call this stuff heavy.”

It was absolutely heavy, Adora was just trying to be cool. 

  
  
  


Mermista was cursing under her breath by the fire pit. She hadn’t actually ever tried to build a fire, but Glimmer was busy supervising kids, and Adora and Catra were flirting by the picnic benches. She lit another match and held it to the bundle of twigs she had put in the sand. It quickly went out yet again. A circle of campers stood around her, eyes focused on her every move. 

“...jesusfucking- Who taught outdoor survival-? ADORA!”

The blonde looked up from her work, looking confusedly at Mermista.

“YEAH?”

“COME BUILD THE FIRE!”

“Oh...OKAY!”

Adora gave Catra a final shy smile and walked over to the fire ring, inspecting Mermista’s work.

“Mermista...this is like...four sticks.”

“Adora, I teach _canoeing_.”

“Fair...okay uh…” Adora turned to all the campers that were spread out in the unit. “Hey! Elberon! We’re gonna need all of you to help us with the fire!”

The kids looked up at Adora, most of them moving closer to listen. 

“Cabin one and cabin two! I need you guys to collect tinder! That’s these tiny little sticks here! Cabin three! I need you guys to get kindling- it’s like a little bigger, but not as big as these over here! Cabin four! You guys need to find fuel! Those are the bigger sticks! Remember, everything needs to be dry, and make sure that everything you collect is dead!” 

The kids split up and went to root around in the woods for sticks with fairly little complaint. 

“You speak...and they just...listen…” Said Mermista. 

“Dumbasses always listen to one of their own.” Glimmer chuckled, walking towards the picnic bench to look at their supplies. “Catra.”

“Sparkles.” 

“Hey!” Adora protested. “I’m like...super smart!”

“I didn’t say you weren’t.” Glimmer laughed, sorting through plates and food. “Okay...what the fuck is this? What are we eating?”

“Glimmer…! The campers are _right_ there!” Adora hissed.

“They’re like eleven, they’ve heard it before. What are we cooking?”

“Chicken foil dinners.” 

“Ugggghhhhhhh!’ Mermista groaned. “If I get food poisoning, I’m going to LOSE my mind.” 

“What if we just like...pre-cook the chicken?” Catra suggested. “I mean it doesn’t alleviate the whole ‘us grabbing things out of the fire with our hands’ issue, but it sounds better than food poisoning.” 

“That’s a really good idea, Catra!” Adora beamed. 

Glimmer looked annoyed. “I’ll take it.”

“Adora- is this enough?” Clara and some of the other cabin one campers had returned with hands full of tiny little sticks.

“Perfect! Can you put it down over there?”

They nodded.

“CATRA! LOOK WHAT I FOUND!” Maya, who was absolutely covered in dirt and sticks, was dragging an entire dead tree into the clearing. 

“Catra, get your gremlin.” Mermista deadpanned. 

The brunette laughed, walking over to deal with her excited camper. 

“That entire cabin is a nightmare.” Glimmer shook her head. 

  
  
  


Adora decided on a log cabin fire because it was easier to cook over- not that that meant literally anything to the other counselors, as they didn’t know shit. Catra and Glimmer ended up being the ones to cut up all of the food, speaking only two words to each other for the entire thirty minutes, and Mermista and Adora put together all of the food and cooked it. Mermista decided that she did not, in fact, want to reach into the fire with her bare hands to retrieve the balls of tinfoil and chicken, so she and Adora fished them out with sticks- an activity that prompted a little more chaos than Glimmer was prepared to deal with. 

They unit ate as the day began to cool off, shadows from pine trees stretching longer and longer across the grassy plain. Micah had forgotten to give them enough utensils, so everyone found various creative ways to eat their dinner out of their tin-foil container. Some kids shoveled the chicken and mushroom soup concoction into their mouths with bare, dirty hands, while others preferred to just stick their entire face into the tinfoil. It was a lose-lose situation. 

Finally, after Adora had managed to convince all of the children to help clean up dinner- and themselves- the unit sat around the campfire as the sun set. 

“Can we have s’mores?” 

“No, we’re doing that at the camp out.” Glimmer responded.

“We’re hiking in the _dark!?_ ”

“It’s a starlight hike!” Adora beamed. 

Catra normally would have rolled her eyes, but Adora’s optimism was always adorable. 

“Wait hey Catra!” One of Catra’s campers shuffled around to look at her. “Are you gonna play guitar at the camp out?”

Catra snorted. “I am _not_ dragging that guitar on a two mile hike in the dark.” 

Without hesitation, another one spoke up. “Can you play now, then?”

“Uh...I…” Catra was taken by surprise. “I mean...I don’t wanna…”

“We’re not leaving for another 45 minutes or so, so go for it!” Adora really wanted to hear her play. 

“Please, Catra! You sing every night!” 

All eyes stared at the brunette expectantly. 

“Fine.” Catra stood up and walked towards her cabin to retrieve the instrument. She wasn’t gone for more than five minutes, returning quickly to the log she had been sitting on. 

The sun had since gone down enough for the firelight to cast flickering shadows onto the musician, the light highlighting bits of her hair and skin. Adora was absolutely overcome. She looked gorgeous. 

After running a hand through thick, brown curls and rolling up the sleeves of Adora's oversized hoodie, Catra cleared her throat and began. 

“Bicycles are made for rain. One hand on handlebars, one on my umbrella...” She sang, her hands lazily strumming along on her acoustic. 

Adora couldn’t believe it. 

“...My ankles are getting wet, but I can't help but steer for the deepest puddle..”

  
  


The song from her car. Catra had learned it.

  
  
  


All Adora could do was stare. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's some Mermista content because I love all of the Elberon counselors dearly. Fuckin uhhhh I want to like include the other counselors LMAO but I don't want to feel like I'm just like shoving them in. And also, at camp, if you've friends that work with an opposite age group,- get fucked. You will not see them unless you try or teach something together. Also Adora is GAY gay
> 
> Also LMAO me just sitting here waiting for the new Owl House episode to drop on kisscartoon like the thief I am


	7. Should I Write an IR? Probably. Will I? No.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go *hiking* and Catra *hates it*

Catra was about an inch away from homicide. A “starlight hike” is cute in theory, but when you’re herding 64 children through a pitch-black trail in the middle of the woods, it gets very not fun very quickly. Also she was going to  _ murder  _ Swift Wind if she ever got the opportunity. 

“Hey Adora! Wanna hear a joke!” He yelled.

“No.” Catra responded.

“I didn’t ask y-”

“No.”

Catra picked up the pace, forcing her cabin to do the same. 

  
  


The brunette was upset about how far she was from Adora- and how close she was to Swift Wind. They had decided to hike by age group, so Catra was thankfully only a cabin away, but that still felt like too much. 

“OW FUCK!” Maya held her forehead protectively. “Hold the FUCKING BRANCHES FOR OTHER PEOPLE!” 

“Hey! Language!” Catra reprimanded. 

The girl huffed and trudged forward into the darkness. 

Catra briefly thought about whether or not she should write an IR for it in the morning, but Glimmer’s words of wisdom rang true in her head: ‘they’re like eleven, they’ve heard it before’. If the camp director’s daughter wasn’t writing incident reports, neither was she. 

Even though her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she still struggled to see anything around her. One of her campers held a flashlight, but that was really the most light she was getting- the moon wasn’t doing them any favors tonight. She would have turned on her own light, but with the amount of time Adora had spent talking about how she loved hiking in the pitch black so that she could see the stars...Catra just couldn’t. 

They hiked in silence for the most part. Swift Wind had stopped singing kidz bop about 20 minutes prior, so all they could hear now were footsteps and the steady rhythm of cicadas and tree frogs. The brunette wondered what Adora was thinking about right then. Was it her? No. Probably not. Maybe?

Lost in thought and very blind, Catra’s foot snagged a root on the trail. She tried to fight to stay upright, but that only yanked her ankle in the wrong direction. Catra landed on the ground with a thump, ankle throbbing. She felt tears prick in her eyes. 

Don’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcry-

“fffffffFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-”

Don’tsweardon’tsweardon’tsweardon’tsweardon’tsweardon’tsweardon’tsweardon’t-

“Catra! Are you okay?!” Adora rushed through the crowd to reach the fallen counselor. 

“I’m fine.” Catra sat up, brushing the leaves off of herself. Everyone had stopped to look at her, all flashlights shining on her mistake. She was painfully embarrassed. This, for some reason, always seemed to translate to anger. 

“Looks like you had quite a spill-!” Swift Wind raised his voice in an attempt to start a joke. 

Catra whipped her head around. “I swear to God if you open your mouth around me one more time, I will make  _ sure _ that you never have the opportunity again.”

The brunette could hear Mermista snicker from farther up the trail, but it was otherwise fairly silent. A sea of children blinked at the scene. Swift Wind blinked. 

“Aaaaalllright! Let’s keep going!” Adora announced, offering Catra a hand. 

The group returned to their slow march forward, various whispers now circulating through the crowd. Catra took Adora’s outstretched hand, pulling herself off of the ground. She put her injured foot down, hoping that she could maybe just finish the hike with some dignity and deal with it in the morning, but as soon as her boot touched the dirt, she collapsed again, gasping in pain. 

“Catra? What’s wrong?” Adora asked, concerned. 

“Oh nothing...think I just twisted my ankle. No big.” She was sweating. 

“Swift Wind, can you guys go around us? Catra and I will take the back. Pass the word up to Glimmer and Mermista so they know to redistribute their ratio.” Adora said authoritatively, one hand wrapped around Catra’s waist for support. 

“Yeah, of course!” The state of somewhat emergency had mellowed him out. 

The Seaworthy counselor directed his boys around the two girls, already texting in the staff group chat to let the others know what the plan was. The other two boys’ counselors passed by with their kids, throwing Catra sympathetic looks as they scooched around them on the trail.

“This is pathetic.” Catra grumbled. 

Adora panicked and wrapped her hand around Catra’s face, squeezing her cheeks. “No.” 

Catra looked at her confusedly. “What?”

They both paused. 

“ANYways! Uhhh let’s look at your ankle.” Adora whipped out her flashlight.

“No...I’m serious. I’m fine.” Catra tried to stand again, pulling herself away from the arm wrapped around her waist. 

“No you’re not.” Adora grabbed Catra’s hips and yanked her into her lap. 

  
  


Both of them paused for a second, unsure of what to do next. Finally Adora grabbed her flashlight again, moving Catra onto the ground next to her, her legs draped perpendicularly across her own. The blonde gently pushed down the brunette’s sock, shining her light on the exposed skin. The area was swollen and had turned an angry shade of purple- it was a miracle Catra’s sock wasn’t harder to get off. 

“Catra this is...definitely a sprain...probably just like a grade one though...” Adora went into action-mode before Catra even had a chance to protest, grabbing the ace bandage from the first-aid kit in her backpack. She removed the girl’s boot and the rest of her sock, gently wrapping the bandage tightly around her foot and ankle. “...hmmm we don’t have any ice but..”

“Adora. I’m okay.” Catra shifted.

“You’re not, so shut up and let me take care of you.” Adora narrowed her eyes. “Do you want me to take you back to main camp?”

“Uh...no..” Catra was taken aback at Adora’s commanding change of attitude. “...I mean...we’re almost there...”

“Then I’ll carry you. Get on my back.”

“Wait what? Are yo-”

“Get on my back.” Adora stood up, helping Catra upwards as well. She crouched down, the back of another one of her soccer t-shirts and a sports backpack facing the brunette. Catra, standing awkwardly on one foot, crawled onto the athlete, her arms resting on muscled shoulders. She felt herself blush.

They walked in silence for a while, most likely because both parties were embarrassingly nervous. Finally Catra spoke. 

“Why are you guys friends?”

“Who?”

“You and Swift Wind.”

“Oh, Sam? We both have been working at the barn together for a while...I don’t know...he’s kind of stupid sometimes, but he means well.” Adora laughed.

“He’s fucking annoying. Also what is UP with him and  _ Sea Hawk _ and those dumbass names? They sound like cartoon characters.” Catra unintentionally let out a breath on Adora’s neck. Adora shivered, cheeks lighting up like a Christmas decoration. 

“U-Uh I don’t k-know...I guess they thought it’d be fun for the summer?”

“Fucking stupid…” Catra muttered, oblivious to Adora’s current state. “...can’t believe you like them.”

“You know who I like a lot more?”

“Hm?”

“You.”

Catra felt her cheeks heating up yet again. “You like me? How embarrassing for you.”

Adora cackled, hiking effortlessly forward through the void. “I’ll drop you off this mountain.”

“Do it. Pussy.”

Adora laughed again, leaning forward and instead kissing the hands that hung loosely around her neck. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight so I was GONNA like put this chapter and next chapter together and then I was like no <3 bc that's a lot more effort. I also wrote this at literally 3:30 am and then edited it half asleep the next morning so hoo boy i bet it's great. I just kind of write shit without much of a plan, which is why chapters like this exist lmfao.
> 
> Uhm ALSO...all of the notifications I get from this are like...at 3am...are...are y'all okay? Maybe...maybe sleep?


	8. Catra Knows Nerd Songs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I cannot lie to you, this chapter is mostly description :)
> 
> So sorry

“Stay here- Micah and I are going to build the fire before we lose any campers.” Adora laughed. She moved to kiss Catra on the forehead, but backed out at the last minute, giving the brunette an awkward wave instead. 

Catra would not have minded the kisses. She sat on a log by the fire ring, foot extended awkwardly as she waited for her girlfriend...girl friend?...girl who was a friend?...girl who was more than a friend? to return. The campers had spread out over the large, rocky surface that they had hiked up to. It was dark now, but Catra knew that in the morning they’d be able to see for miles. 

“Catra! What happened?” A horde of Elberon campers rushed over, making a small circle around the counselor. Kids are always so drawn to disaster. 

“Oh...y’know...fought a bear. Nothing crazy.” Catra leaned back casually, trying to look cool.

“Woah, really?!”

“No, dipshit, she fell down a hill.”

“You’re so full of it, Catra!” 

The kids around her laughed, mocking each other and pretending to punch bears. 

“Hey..! Keep using language like that and I’ll write an IR on you.” The counselor threatened. 

Maybe the best thing Catra had ever done was convince the kids that incident reports worked like detention writeups. The reality was much more boring and a lot more legal. 

The kids nodded, still laughing and giggling wildly. The stars above shone brightly, softly illuminating the dark forest to the side of her and the faces of her gremlins. The counselor was excited for some firelight though, because if a child decided to disappear into the woods at that very moment, Catra would definitely never notice. 

Adora and Micah returned, the children they had enlisted to help them close behind. The blonde smiled at her- or at least Catra thought she did. It was hard to tell in the darkness. The two crouched down next to the circle of rocks they had built, stacking the sticks in some sort of formation and brushing sand out from underneath it. They chittered on about some outdoor survival shit that Catra did not care to understand. 

“Catra! Catra! Sing something!” The circle of campers around her remained, all heads turned her direction.

“...really? Don’t you guys want to do...something else?” 

“What else is there for us to do?” That was definitely one of Glimmer’s campers. 

“I dunno...talk?” Catra responded with a facial expression the campers could not see. 

“No, no! We want to hear you sing!” 

Catra sighed. “What do you want me to sing?”

“That one song from the hobbit!” A younger girl piped up. “The cool creepy-sounding one!”

The counselor hated that she knew exactly what the girl was talking about. 

“Alright, alright. Gimme a sec.” She stretched and yawned, taking a final deep breath before beginning. 

“Far over the misty mountains cold, to dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away, ere break of day to seek our pale enchanted gold…”

Her voice rung clearly through the night sky. Most other conversations stopped pretty immediately, campers and counselors alike walking towards the group that was forming around the injured girl. A warm, summer breeze blew through Catra’s hair as she sang, the crickets and cicadas accompanying her in song. 

Adora looked up from her task, having already managed to make a small fire. Catra’s voice floated through the air around her, making her feel like she too was floating just a little. She could feel the emotion in the girl’s voice- it sent chills rippling across her skin. The athlete had to physically shake her head to get herself to focus on the task at hand. Micah looked at her, a mix of confusion and concern clear in his eyes. 

“...and that’s all I remember.” Catra laughed. 

The children around her grinned, some softly clapping. They bounced in excitement. 

“Can you do another one?”

“Where did you learn to sing?”

“How long have you been singing?”

“Uh..no...I’m gonna hold off on singing for a little bit. Enjoy your campout. Talk to each other.” Catra smiled, a little worn out. “I need to help Adora with the fire anyways.”

“...the fire is already built though?”

“What’s that, Adora? I couldn’t hear you!” Catra dragged herself sideways along the log in the direction of the blonde. 

The children dispersed slightly, excited whispers rippling through the small groups almost immediately. 

“You’re so stupid.” Adora laughed.

“I try my best, honestly.”

“Alright, campers!” Micah called. “If you want s’mores, you need to go find a s’more stick!”

Almost all the children shot up immediately, making a beeline for the woods. 

“Y’know,” mused Catra. “We never count them at night. Some campers could go looking for sticks and just...never come back, and we wouldn’t know until morning.”

Adora’s eyes went wide in panic. 

“U-uh but, but! We-we’ve never lost a camper, have we!” Catra panicked and placed a reassuring hand on Adora’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “I’m just kidding, really.”

Both of them sat in a silent panic, eyes wide, and pupils microscopic. 

  
  
  
  


After the general ruckus of s’mores and the “how to poop in the woods” discussion, it had officially hit 10:30- meaning the counselors had definitely decided it was bedtime. Adora put Catra on her back again so that the two of them could say goodnight to their campers. Catra felt a little self conscious interacting with her kids with Adora watching, but it was much preferred to sitting on the log alone. Adora, despite herself, counted every one of hers and Catra’s children to make sure that they hadn’t disappeared into the forest. 

Swift Wind’s annoying-ass voice echoed loudly from behind the two. Catra turned her head to say something, but noticed Rogelio, a quieter counselor, giving him a stern look. The ginger counselor quieted down, waving his hands in apology. Thank God. 

  
  
  
  


“Catra! Bedtime song!” 

The brunette let out a grumble, obviously very ready to sleep. Still perched on Adora’s back, she softly sang On The Loose, one of her favorite camp songs from when she was a kid. With a final goodnight, she and Adora sat down on a spot near the front of the trailhead- a perfect place to supervise if need be. 

“We don’t really have anywhere to elevate your foot tonight, so we’ll have to give it proper care tomorrow. How cushion-y is your sleeping bag?” Adora began to unroll her sleeping bag, taking off her socks and hiking boots and setting them to the side. 

“I brought a blanket…” Catra held up the thin-rolled up blanket that had been in the bottom of her sleeping bag. “It’s summer- I’ll be fine.”

Adora had had enough of Catra’s “I’ll be fine” bullshit. “You’re going to be  _ so _ uncomfortable! You’re not going to sleep well, and then you’re not going to heal because your body doesn’t have enough rest to do  _ anything _ !” She hissed. 

“Adora, really, it’s oka-”

“Just...let me take care of you...I want to. Please.” Adora looked at Catra, pain in her eyes.

The brunette was taken aback. “...fine…”

Adora unzipped her own sleeping bag, laying it out flat. She motioned for Catra to join her, waiting patiently for the other counselor to crawl over and lay down next to her. The blonde then took Catra’s balled-up blanket and placed it gently under the brunette’s injured foot, effectively propping it up just a little. Finally, Adora laid down, grabbing the edge of the sleeping bag and folding it over on top of her and the other girl like a quesadilla. 

“This is...close…” Catra’s head lay just below Adora’s own, her nose mere inches from the blonde’s shoulder. 

“Is that bad?” Adora sounded worried.

“NO! ...no. Close...close is nice.” The musician snuggled a little closer, burying her head in the athlete’s arm. 

Adora smiled. The two lay in comfortable silence, just relishing the warmth and closeness of the other counselor. It was a while before Adora spoke.

“Catra...I don’t mean to freak you out...but...what is this? ...what are we?”

The brunette blinked sleepily, locking eyes with the girl next to her. “What do you want us to be?”

“...I mean...girlfriends...would be nice? Is that okay with you?”

“I would like that very much.” A sleepy smile played on Catra’s lips, her eyes only half open now. 

Adora chuckled- sleepy Catra was  _ much _ cuter than she could have possibly imagined. She wrapped an arm around the smaller girl, pressing her lips to her forehead. 

“Goodnight, Cat.”

“G’night, ‘Dora.”

  
  


Adora could not believe that the abrasive counselor from a week ago was now not only sharing a sleeping bag with her, but cuddling her. AND HER GIRLFRIEND. The blonde was almost too excited to sleep. Catra snored softly next to her, cuddling closer and closer to Adora the deeper she fell asleep. 

  
  


...them cuddling would raise some questions...Adora would have to be the first to wake up. 

  
  


...but she could enjoy it for now.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m literally searching instagram for a catradora camp AU drawing bc I CANNOT be the only one that thought of this. ALSO SOMEONE TOLD ME SOMEONE POSTED THIS ON REDDIT AND I AM SCREAMING. I REALLY THOUGHT NO ONE WAS GONNA READ THIS. 
> 
> Sorry this chapter was so...description-ey...it just had to be done and it would be SO long if I tried to describe an entire four hour campout. Also I didn't describe him at all before so I felt that Rogelio needed a sentence. ALmost everyone in universe (except like...bow's dads, shadow weaver, and hordak, and like...minor characters) has like a role....but we'll see if I get to like...actually describing them. Bow, Kyle, and Sea Hawk all have the younger boys, and Scorpia, Netossa, Spinarella, and Perfuma all have younger girls lol so I'm trying to figure out interaction time but...who knows. You WILL see Entrapta very soon tho :D
> 
> OH ALSO y'know the drill...I wrote this at 3 am yadda yadda, sorry if it's hard to read bc I wrote it at 3am yadda yadda


	9. I think everyone is a lil stupid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title says it all

Catra woke up cold. She sleepily felt around next to her for Adora, disappointed when her hand landed on only cold sleeping bag. Shaking the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up and looked towards the horizon. The silhouette of her girlfriend stood at the cliff’s edge, calmly watching the newborn sunrise. Her _girlfriend_. Wow. 

Catra rolled back over and fell back asleep. 

  
  
  
  


___________________________________________________________________

  
  
  


“If you would just _hold still_ …!”

“Absolutely not! You’re fucking crazy!”

“...subject is being kind of...difficult.”

“Entrapta, I’m not giving you a sample of my blood!”

“...hm...shame..”

  
  


The purple haired woman stepped away from the angry girl, mumbling something into her voice recorder and scribbling in her notes. Catra sat uncomfortably on the examination bench, ankle propped up and swollen. The whole nurse’s cabin gave her crazy 20’s asylum vibes- she almost wished she’d let Adora accompany her there. At least then she’d feel safer. 

“Here. Stay on these crutches for a few days and ice your ankle as often as possible. Elevate at night.” Entrapta handed her the crutches and then immediately whirled away into some hidden side room. Catra could hear her rummaging around. 

“How long have we had these things?? The twenties?? They look old as hell.” 

“Probably!” The nurse called back, not bothering to come back out to talk to Catra face to face. “You’re good to go! Unless...you want to help me with a few experiments…”

Catra hopped as fast as she possibly could out the screen door, her crutches thudding softly on a blanket of fallen pine needles. 

  
  
  
  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
  


“Okay. Listen, darling. Catra is...a special case.”

“Yeah...she is special.” Adora beamed softly. 

The lifeguard pulled down their sunglasses, looking at the jock with disappointment. “That is not at all what I meant.” 

“What?”

The two stood on the dock's edge, supervising a rowdy crowd of children as they splashed about and tried to most likely drown each other in the murky lake. The scene looked disturbingly like the fifth circle of hell. 

D.T. sighed, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind their ear. “Getting close to people like Catra is always difficult. Trust me. She’s not just going to open up off the bat and make your life easy for you.”

“She’s opened up to me a lot recently though!” Adora protested. “I’m already making so much progress! I just...I want to do this right, y’know?”

“So you guys are super close now?”

“Yeah!”

“What’s her biggest fear? Her favorite color? Her relationship with her parents?” 

“I-I uhm...she uh…” Adora stammered. “She- she doesn’t really talk about herself very much...or her home life…”

“Oooh yeah, see I _was_ getting a mommy issues vibe.” 

Adora could feel the sun starting to burn her neck and ears. Her navy t-shirt felt much warmer now than it had five minutes ago. 

“She doesn’t-!” The athlete started to protest. 

“AAAAAADVENTUUUREEEE!!” A massive tidal wave rose out of the water and smacked Adora and D.T. squarely in the face. Once the waves began to settle, a concerned Sea Hawk could be seen resurfacing from his cannon ball and swimming quickly towards the child he accidentally landed on. 

“Who let that _idiot_ around water and children?” D.T. hissed, wiping water out of their eyes. 

Adora didn’t bother drying off- D.T.’s words still ringing in her ears. 

“Listen.” D.T. turned to face the athlete. “You both are hot- you’re a good couple. I’m here for it. I’m not telling you not to try- I’m just telling you to be careful and to have patience.”

Adora nodded her head vigorously, blonde ponytail swinging violently side to side. She made a plan to talk to Catra as _much_ as possible very soon. 

“So how long have you been together? How far have you gotten?” D.T. had entirely abandoned their cool, indifferent position, eyebrows now raised in intense anticipation.

“We uhm..” Adora’s face went red. “Well technically, we started dating last night. I don’t know what you mean by that last part? We haven’t gone anywhere, since we’ve been at camp?”

“Adora, sometimes you make me want to _frogger_ across a _highway._ Have you guys-?!” They didn’t get to finish. 

“D.T. I think this child _may_ be drowning!”

D.T. whipped their head towards a panicked looking Sea Hawk.

“ _May_ be?”

“They are not moving _or_ breathing!” Sea Hawk gave a nervous thumbs up. 

“Jesus _fucking_ christ.” D.T. growled, turning and leaping into the water. 

  
  


Adora had a lot to think about. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy


	10. Advice from the Lesbian Overseers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title sums it up

Catra fucking _hated_ lanyards. 

Every time she saw them, she couldn’t help but think about that one Billy Collins poem she used to chuckle at in high school. They were so pointless- so useless! But yet here she was, weaving strands of blue plastic together to make a pointless gift for the girl with blue eyes. 

She felt sort of worthless. Catra had spent all her time in the nurse’s office up until now just trying to figure out why Adora agreed to date her. Was it a trick? Did she feel bad for her? The musician was rather caught up in the beauty of it all last night, but once the morning hit, doubt began to set in immediately.

_Adora isn’t going to suddenly actually want to date you because you gave her a shitty lanyard, dumbass._

I know that! Catra rubbed at her eyebrow nervously.

_Even if she does care about you, you’re just going to push her away._

She’s different! 

_But are you?_

  
  
  


“CATRA! Can you start my lanyard for me?”

A small boy stood before her, wiping his nose on the back of his arm. 

“Ask Netossa.”

He turned towards the woman.

“Ask Spinnarella.” 

Spinnarella, rather unfond of this trend, glared at her wife and the other counselor before moving over to help the child. 

  
  
  


Catra had been added to art for an activity period so she could stay off of her crutches as much as possible. She fucking hated it.

-but she hated tripping over roots more. 

“Okay, you’ve been staring at that lanyard with murder in your eyes for like twenty minutes. What’s going on?”

Catra lolled her head over in Netossa’s direction

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.” The older woman hissed.

Catra gasped in faux astonishment. “Your language! What about the kids?” 

“Fuck the kids.”

“ _...fuck_ the kids?”

“NO! No. Dammit, Catra! Why are you such a pain in the ass?!” 

Spinnarella looked nervously over at the two, a smile on her face, but fear in her eyes. Netossa waved back, her face falling as soon as she looked away from her wife. 

“Fine. If you don’t want help- then forget I asked.” 

“No...wait!” Catra scratched her head nervously. “I uhm...how did you two uh...there’s…………....there’s this girl…”

“Is this about Adora?” Netossa’s eyes lit up. 

“Wait...how?! What..?!”

Spinnerella, back from actually doing her job, excitedly stuck her head in the conversation. “Are we talking about Adora?” 

“How do you guys know about that?” Catra hissed. 

“You guys aren’t exactly subtle.” Netossa chuckled. 

“We-! We-! FUckin uh..-” The musician choked. 

“What’s going on, kid?”

Catra covered her face with her arms, slouching down to lay her torso on the picnic table. 

“Well _now_ I’m embarrassed.” 

“Catra-!” Netossa was done with her shit.

“Honey…” Spinnarella rested a hand on Netossa’s shoulder. “We’re here for you...what do you need?”

“...I just...I want her to know that I care about her…” Catra buried her face deeper in her arms. 

“How long have you two been together?” Spinarella asked sweetly. 

“Since last night.” 

Netossa let out a loud chuckle, attracting the attention of many lanyard-making children. 

“Catra, it hasn’t even been a day! What are you freaking out for?” 

The Latina bristled, clenching her fists slowly. 

“I...I just don’t...I don’t want to fuck this up…” 

Spinarella gently laid a comforting hand on Catra’s shoulder. The musician immediately shrank away from the touch, so Spinarella removed her hand just as fast. 

“You know,” she began after a moment’s pause. “When Netty and I first started dating, she texted me every night to make sure that I wasn’t playing some mean prank on her. She always talked a big talk, but deep down, she was just as scared as-”

“HEY!” Interrupted Netossa. “That’s _embarrassing_!” 

“What were you saying earlier about wanting to ‘help the baby gays’? Hm, _beloved_?”

“Don’t call me that- you never say that!”

Spinarella began to laugh, a wide smile lighting up her entire face. Catra let out a chuckle of her own. Netossa ceased fire on the war she had waged with her wife and offered a smirk in the younger girl’s direction. 

“Catra, we know Adora. _You_ know Adora. It’s obvious that she cares about you, just communicate with her. Go on a real date. It’s going to be alright. ” 

“But why does she even _like_ me? She’s so _perfect_ and _put together_ and I’m so-!”

“Why don’t you ask her?” Netossa cut her off before she could get any further.

Catra sat in silence, like the thought had never occurred to her.

“Also, Adora is decidedly not perfect- she is awkward as _hell_.”

“What?”

The three turned to see a rather nervous-looking Adora hovering in the doorframe of the lodge. She toyed awkwardly with a blonde fly-away, her face redder than normal. 

“Uh...Catra we have that...community service thing...with the kids…” Adora looked like she was mentally preparing herself for something. Exactly what? Catra had no idea. “I was just wondering if you needed a hand?”

“Oh- uh! Uhm yeah let me...let me get my crutches.” The musician awkwardly shoved her lanyard in the pocket of her jean shorts, wriggling uncoordinatedly off of the bench.

Adora let out a soft chuckle, walking gracefully over to her girlfriend. “Let me.”

She bent down so Catra could clamber embarrassedly up her back, standing up slowly and grabbing the crutches that were leaning against the picnic bench. 

“Bye, Netossa! Bye Spinarella!” Waved Adora with a charming smile.

“Bye, girls!” Spinarella smiled.

Netossa smirked. “You two have fun!”

Catra whipped around from atop Adora’s back. “We’re doing _work!_ ”

“Mhm, bye!”

  
  


Adora grinned to herself. Who’s ‘awkward as hell’ now? That was smooth as fuck. 

  
  
  


  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ngl the pacing is a little atrocious, but my head hurts bc I ate shit yesterday like 5 times


	11. God I'm so FUCKING close to being done with this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man idk-

“Catra...I just...I can’t…” Adora turned her back to the musician, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her own torso, hugging herself almost desperately. “I opened up to you! I told you everything! And you’re just…” 

Catra opened her mouth to speak, but the lump in her throat was almost painful. Tears ran down ochre cheeks as she struggled to find the right thing- _anything_ \- to say. She had never seen Adora shake like that. 

“Being with you is too painful.” Adora whipped back around so that Catra could see the hurt in those blue eyes, tears streaking over the red splotches forming on her face. 

“I-I never meant to hurt you!” Catra choked out, almost clawing at the air in front of her- reaching for Adora. 

“I know.” The blonde said. “That’s the problem.”

“Please!” Catra sobbed. She fell to her knees, hard concrete biting into already bruised skin. “I can change! Just please... _stay_!” 

“You know I can’t.” Adora wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, still crying. “Goodbye, Catra.”

The blonde walked forward and away into the darkness, leaving Catra once again alone. The musician shook, her body wracked with sobs. She hugged herself tightly, rocking back and forth, but nothing could make her feel warm again. 

“ADORA!” She screamed, but no one answered. She was alone. She was always alone.

She could make out her bloody knees from behind the tears warping her vision. The two liquids ran together, crawling slowly across the concrete. Catra waited for the inevitable pain- for anything really. Nothing came. Her heart stopped hurting. She couldn’t feel anything.

  
  
  


Maybe she deserved this. 

  
  


Maybe she deserved to be numb.

  
  
  


To be alone.

  
  
  
  
  


_...cat..?_

  
  
  


The musician threw her hands over her ears, fingernails digging sharply into her scalp. Of course her brain would taunt her like this. 

  
  


_Catra?_

  
  


She’s not real- she didn’t come back for you.

  
  


_Catra are you okay?_

  
  


No one ever comes back for you

  
  


_…hey...Catra._

  
  


SHUT UP!

  
  
  


“Catra!” 

  
  
  
  
  


The musician looked up sharply into a sea of blue. The eyes blinked back concernedly. 

“Hey there...wake up sleepyhead!” Adora gave her a goofy smile. “Are you alright? You were knocked _out_.”

“Yeah uh…” Catra looked around, confused. She was slumped over a painted picnic table, her girlfriend sitting criss-cross on top of it. Warm sunlight heated the back of her tank top and reflected brilliantly off of Adora’s ponytail. She was safe. “Just uh...been worrying a lot I guess.”

“About what?” Adora cocked her head. 

“Oh uh...y’know...stuff.” Catra wiped the tears from her eyes with a shaky hand.

“What _kind_ of stuff?”

“Well-”

“Nope!” Glimmer marched towards them. “You two are _not_ gonna sit here and flirt while we oversee whatever the hell this is. I _refuse_ to third wheel.” 

“Glimmer, I third wheel all the _time_ with you and Bow. What are you talking about?!” Adora said, jumping smoothly off of the picnic table. 

“That’s different.”

“Is it?”

“No.” Said Catra, adding her two cents to the conversation. She was still a little out of it. 

“See!”  
  


“Of _course_ she agrees with you! She’s your girlfriend!”

“You two are dating?!” A wild mane of ginger hair appeared before them, closely followed by two other disgruntled-looking teenagers. 

“How did you three get down here?” Glimmer asked, obviously not expecting the kids so soon.

“We walked.” Said Carrie, boredly adjusting her round glasses over a fading black eye. 

“Without supervision?”

“Yes.”

“Oh _great_. Adora, can you call Angella?”

Adora raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you call her? She’s _your_ mom.”

“Because I don’t want to call _my mom_!” Glimmer waved her arms with emphasis. 

“Mrs. Angella is your mom?!” Maya looked like she was about to shit herself. “I’m learning so much…” she whispered. 

Adora snorted and took out her cellphone, walking a few feet away to call the camp director. Catra was definitely still disoriented, her body slumped over on the table. 

“Okay. Does anyone know why the six of us are down here?” Asked Glimmer. 

They all stood in a field by the old camp barn, a large garden stretched out in rows before them. The sun shone brightly up above, sparing absolutely nothing from the scorching summer heat. This was gonna suck. 

“We’re here because Maya lacks basic self-control.” Carrie sneered. 

“Aw Carrie, your eyes don’t match. Lemme fix that for you-!” Maya tried to leap through the air at the other girl, but Clara held her back.

“Ohhhhhhh my GOODDDDDDDDD!” Catra groaned from the picnic bench. 

The general ruckus paused to look at the injured counselor. 

“If you guys fight again, then we’re going to have to _garden_ again, and it’s gonna suck _more_. Carrie, don’t be mean. Maya, don’t hit people. Clara...I...I don’t know why you’re here, I’m gonna be honest. Don’t do...whatever you did.” 

The group was silent. 

“Yeah...so!” Glimmer clapped her hands awkwardly. “Catra makes a valid point. Just...please don’t fight, and these three hours will go a lot faster-”

“THREE HOURS??” Yelled Maya.

“...three hours??” Echoed Catra, very much in pain. 

“Yeah. We’ve got a lot of weeds to pull...” Glimmer made a face at the tomato plant in front of her. It mocked her. “Let’s get going. Shoo- start picking.” 

The three campers didn’t move, sneakers rooted in the mud.

“This might be a stupid question...but uhm...I’ve...I’ve never pulled weeds before... “ Clara scratched at her ear nervously.

“It’s easy!” Adora bounded over, ever a golden-retriever of a person. “The small little things that look like this, you’re just gonna pull out and set to the side! Make sure you grab them as close to the soil as possible or they’ll snap off! If that happens, then the root is still in there and it’s just gonna grow again haha!” 

Catra laid her head softly on the picnic table, a soft smile playing on her lips. Adora was perfect. The blonde looked over at her girlfriend, tongue trapped between her teeth in a goofy grin. Catra waved lazily back, lips upturned in a lovestruck smile. 

“Okay- get working!” Glimmer wiped the sweat beading on her forehead away. “Summer is evil.”

“You’re not gonna help us?” Carrie looked distressed. 

“God no!” Glimmer leaned against the barn door, wiping pink hair out of her eyes. “This is _your_ punishment. I did nothing.”

Carrie and Maya crinkled their noses in an almost angry disappointment before turning reluctantly towards the field. Clara followed softly behind. 

“This all makes me feel like I’m back home!” Adora chuckled, dirt somehow already smudged on her flushed cheeks. 

Glimmer grimaced. “Sometimes I forget you’re totally from the sticks and then you do things like _this_.”

“You making fun of her heritage, Sparkles?” Catra crutched up to the two, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Her heart still hadn’t calmed down all of the way. 

“We’re not _that_ country!” 

“Adora, you live on a farm.” Glimmer snorted. 

“Yeah, but-!”

“Your first sentence to me was, and I quote, ‘boy howdy, the sun’s got me feelin’ like a caught frog today’!” The pink haired counselor was shaking with laughter. 

“WHAT?” Catra choked, absolutely overcome with this new mental image. She gripped her stomach, her entire body quaking.

“I do not sound like that!” 

Catra and Glimmer snorted, trying somewhat to curb the laughing fit. 

“...you do..just a little..” Catra wheezed. 

“I DO NOT!”

Catra thought Adora looked pretty when her eyebrows furrowed together like that. 

Adora stopped for a minute, just listening to her girlfriend’s laugh. 

  
  


“GLIMMER!!” 

The counselor gasped for air and turned towards the field, still shaking slightly.

“WHAT?!”

“CAN YOU COME HERE?” The voice was Maya’s. 

Glimmer drug a hand across her face in annoyance. “....stupid fucking...stupid ass kids...fuckin dining hall...motherfucker....” She stomped away. 

  
  
  


“Hey…”

Catra instinctively jerked away from the gentle touch to her waist. She looked up into blue eyes, startled. 

“Are you okay?” Adora’s eyes were full of worry. She pulled her hand away. 

With a deep breath, Catra moved her girlfriend’s hand back to her waist, closing the space between them. 

“Yeah…” Her voice trembled a little. 

Adora’s eyebrows did the cute “eyebrow-knit” thing.

“I just had a bad dream...that’s all. I’m okay..” Catra leaned in for a hug, resting her nose on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“You smell like sweat.”  
  


Adora snorted, hugging Catra even tighter. “Now you do too.”

“No!” Catra tried her best to wiggle away from the blonde, but it was no use.

“Catra-” The brunette stopped fighting and looked up into the athlete’s eyes. “-if you ever want to talk about anything...I’m here. You can trust me.” 

“Yeah…” Catra looked away, ashamed. She paused for a second. “...how about this Saturday? After all the campers leave?” 

“What?”

“...y’know like...what if we went to get something to eat...and talked about...stuff…?” Catra focused intently on the very interesting grass at their feet. 

Adora gasped in fake surprise. “Catrina Muñoz...are you asking me on a date?”

“Please shut up. Yes or no?”

“Of course.” Adora laughed, placing a kiss on Catra’s forehead. “I’d go anywhere with you.”

Boy was that grass interesting. So green. Catra, on the other hand, was very red. 

  
  
  


“So…” Catra said finally, still trapped in Adora’s arms. “You think our campers have a crush on each other?”

“Oh for sure.” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy, fuckers! I'm so fucking close to being able to wash my hands of this whole affair- we're so close. 
> 
> One more chapter and then I'm out and you'll never hear from me again. 
> 
> Did I edit this? God no.


	12. It's finally fucking over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE MF END JFC

A gentle rain beat persistently on Adora’s windshield. The sky, not particularly stormy, cast a soft and sleepy light on the two counselors inside the powder blue pickup. Bluegrass music tinkled softly over the speakers. 

Catra smiled nervously at the lean hand laying gently on her knee, its owner rather distracted by a rather impressive fiddle solo she had heard a thousand times before. 

“Okay- Catra listen to this!...listen- wait. One sec- you gotta hear this.” A few seconds of only fiddle passed. “I could have sworn that- OH! There it is! Isn’t that cool! I love that sound!” 

“You mean the keychange?” 

Adora was grinning ear to ear, eyes focused on the seemingly never-ending two lane road. 

“Yes? I mean, I don’t know anything about music, but _wow_!” 

“It did sound pretty cool.” Catra smiled at her girlfriend with soft eyes, admiring the strands of blonde that had fallen out of her ponytail, creating a somewhat chaotic halo around her flushed cheeks. 

“What?” Adora took her eyes away from the road for a second, turning to look at the brunette.

“Hm?  
  


“Why are you looking at me like that?” Her eyebrows scrunched together in a confused smile.

Catra coughed. “You look stupid.”

Adora snorted, laughing loudly with her whole chest. 

“I _will_ drive you off this mountain.”

“You’d die too, dumbass.”

“Naw,” Adora grinned. “I have skills.”

“Yeah okay, _She-ra_.” Catra snorted, looking out a foggy window.

The rain began to beat harder on the windshield, the sky refusing to darken much more than it already had. It was a warm, summer rain, and the world seemed greener than it had ever been before. 

“So where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“We’re going to Lucky’s aren’t we?”

“Wha?!” Adora whipped her head over to look at Catra, eyes wide.

“It’s the only restaurant in town,” she laughed. “literally where else would we be going?” 

Adora puffed her cheeks in frustration. “Yeah, we’re going to Lucky’s.”

“I mean besides,” Catra poked a finger into Adora’s warm cheek. “Wasn’t _I_ the one who asked _you_ out? Shouldn’t this be my surprise to you?”

“Yeah but!” Adora flushed slightly and locked her gaze on the slick road ahead.

“But what?” Catra leaned closer with a grin. 

“I...I like planning things, okay?”

Catra laughed and leaned over, kissing Adora softly on the shoulder. “I know you do.”

Adora’s flush spread down her neck as she stifled a giddy grin. The two sat in a comfortable silence as the pickup hummed down the long, two lane road. 

  
  


“Okay- gimme the aux.”

“...wh-what?” Adora turned her head to look at Catra in confusion.

“The aux. No more folk music, princess.”

“Fine…” Adora pouted. 

“Awh no please don’t look at me like that- I just want to show you something!”

Adora’s big blue eyes bore deep into Catra’s soul. 

“I’m not looking at you!” Catra plugged her phone into the aux and turned away from her girlfriend, scrolling quickly through spotify to find her song.

There was silence. And then…

  
  


The sound of early 2000’s grunge guitar exploded inside the vehicle. Adora flinched backwards and slightly wrinkled her nose, trying her best to appreciate her girlfriend’s music. 

“HE WAS A BOY! SHE WAS A GIRL! CAN I MAKE IT ANY MORE OBVIOUS? HE WAS A PUNK! SHE DID BALLET! WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?”

Catra screamed along to the lyrics, mouth wide in a toothy grin. Adora swore she’d have crashed the car if she didn’t refocus her eyes onto the road. 

“HE WAS A SKATER BOY! SHE SAID SEE YOU LATER BOY! HE WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH FOR HER! SHE HAD A PRETTY FACE, BUT HER HEAD WAS UP IN SPACE! SHE NEEDED TO COME BACK DOWN TO EEEEAAAAAAARTH!”

The brunette held an invisible microphone as she sang(screamed), pointing right at Adora. Her eyes glinted with love and mischief in the soft light. Adora noticed that her flannel had fallen off of a shoulder as she danced, revealing only a tight-fitting grey tank top underneath.

The _ROAD_ , Adora. Focus on the _ROAD._

  
  
  
  


The musician ran a hand through her dark curls as the song ended, breathing a little heavier than before. 

“What did you think?” Catra leaned in close once again, her eyes focused on Adora’s. 

“It was uh...interesting.” Adora panicked, incredibly aware of how close Catra was. “Definitely not what I would normally listen to...uhhm…….Oh look! We’re here!”

Adora swerved sharply into the gravel lot and parked, turning off the car. Catra white-knuckled the door handle.

“Hate Avril that much, huh?” She coughed, eyes wide. 

“I don’t... _hate_ it…” Adora climbed slowly out of the truck, trying to quickly come up with an answer. The rain beat softly on their heads, dripping slowly from loose hairs. 

Catra cackled loudly, grinning at her girlfriend. “I’m just messing with you, come on dumbass.”

She hobbled around to the other side of the truck, grabbing Adora’s hand and pulling her quickly out of the rain and into the diner. 

Everything inside was warmly lit, yellow light reflecting softly on the deep red of the booths lining two windowed walls. An older woman at the counter looked up from a notepad with a smile. She spoke with a pleasant southern twang. 

“Sit anywhere you’d like- I’ll be with you in just a minute.”

“Thank you, ma’am!” Adora called back, her voice taking on a twang of its own.

Catra laughed and pulled her into a booth in the corner, as far away from the door as possible. “What was that?”

“What?”

“That southern accent?”

“Oh…” Adora rubbed the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. “That just kind of...happens sometimes if I talk to southern folks...”

“Aww, my little southern belle.” Catra grinned.

All 5’8 of Adora raised an eyebrow at 5’4 Catra. 

“You wanna talk about little- ”

“It’s _four_ inches!” 

“Yeah? I dunno, I’ve heard _size matters_.” 

Catra choked, spluttering at what she had _least_ anticipated to come out of Adora’s mouth. 

“You girls ready to order?” The old woman from the front approached them with notebook in hand.

“I am!” Adora smiled blindingly.” Catra? You ready?”

The brunette was still wheezing, eyes darting desperately between the waitress and her girlfriend. Who was this and what had they done with dense Adora? 

“Is she alright?” The waitress looked concerned. 

“She’s fine, bless her heart. She’s had quite a cough for a while now. You think we can start with some water?” Adora slid comfortably back into the slight southern twang. 

“Oh of course, poor thing!” The waitress scurried behind the counter and returned quickly with two cherry-red translucent coke cups, the water inside sloshing slightly over the edges. The woman set them down on the table and looked at Catra expectantly. The brunette awkwardly nodded her thanks and drank quickly from the hilariously large cup. Adora grinned widely, working hard to stifle a laugh. 

“So what can I get for y’all?” 

“Can I get a cheeseburger and a coke please?” The blonde smiled, giving Catra time to compose herself. 

“It’s a pretty big burger,” the woman chuckled. “You think you can finish it all?”

“Yes ma’am!” Adora’s eyebrows scrunched together in anticipation of a challenge. 

The waitress laughed warmly. “Alright then! And what can I get for you, dear?”

“Uh...c-can I get a cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese please?” Catra tried her very best to make eye contact but she was oh so embarrassed. 

“Of course!” The woman fixed the both of them with a curious smile as she wrote down Catra’s order. “Say, don’t you two work at that summer camp down the road? I think I’ve seen a few of you in here before.” 

“Yes ma’am! We’re both counselors there!” Adora grinned. 

“I’m so glad to hear that! Y’know I used to go there as a kid...I’m glad that old camp is still around.” 

“We try our best!” 

“I’m sure you do....” She smiled wistfully for a moment before blinking back into the present. “You two are just precious together!”

Adora and Catra froze, eyes darting between each other and the woman. 

“I just love when girls go on little “friend dates”- it really warms my heart. Y’know what? Just for y’all, I’ll throw in a milkshake on the house!” 

“Thank you so much, ma’am!” Adora laughed loudly, nervous. Perhaps too loudly. 

“Of course, dear! I’ll have your food right out!” With a wave, the waitress disappeared back behind the counter. 

Catra looked like she had just been through war, nursing her cup of water anxiously. 

Adora nudged the brunette’s hiking boot with her own. “You alright?”

“...so much just happened…” She stared wide eyed into the cup. 

Adora laughed with her whole chest, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “Awww...need me to hold your hand?”

Catra wordlessly slid her hand over the sticky table, refusing to make eye-contact with Adora. The blonde grinned and intertwined their fingers, staring at her girlfriend until she finally looked back. 

“You look really pretty today.” Catra smiled softly, eyes on the rolled up sleeves of Adora’s white v-neck.

Adora grinned widely, squeezing the musician’s hand. “You always look pretty.”

“Why’d you have to one-up me like that?” Catra whined with a smile. “I can’t compete with you!”

“Well it’s a good thing you don’t have to.” Adora cocked her head to the side with a genuine grin, her eyes locking onto her girlfriend’s. Looking people in the eye had always made Catra ridiculously uncomfortable, but right now it was all she wanted to do. 

“Adora, I-”

“Alright, here we go! One cheeseburger, one grilled cheese, a cup of tomato soup, and a shake! Can I get you two anything else?” The waitress wore an oblivious open mouthed smile. 

Catra was close to committing a hate crime. 

“This looks great, ma’am! Thank you!” Adora said with a chuckle, eyes on a frustrated Catra. 

“Alright! Well just holler if you need me!” The woman disappeared again. 

The brunette took a deep breath, a terrifying smile etched on her face. Adora squeezed her hand gently. “You were saying?” 

“Uh. I- uh…” Catra looked down at the grilled cheese on the table in front of her. “That was- I mean like...they cooked that food really fast, right? I’m not crazy? Like that was kind of impressive.” 

Adora chuckled despite herself, cocking her head comfortingly to the side. “You can take as long as you need, Catra. It’s okay.” 

The table lay silent for a moment. 

  
  


“I’m sorry.”

Catra’s eyes met Adora’s with an unexpected intensity. 

“What-”

“I’m sorry that I’m hard to get along with, I’m sorry that I don’t share things, I’m sorry that I’m a bad friend, I’m sorry that-”

“Hey hey hey,” Adora squeezed Catra’s hand tightly. The brunette’s eyes were full of pain. “Catra, what are you apologizing for? You’re amazing! I-I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t!”

“I just want to be honest and open and-”

“Woah, hey! We’ve got time! I would love to get to know you better, but I want it to be at your pace! You have plenty of time if that’s what you want. Trust me, okay? 

The musician wiped away the tears welling in her eyes and shook silently. “Y-you’re really nice.”

“Awh Catra.” Adora slid her food to the brunette’s side of the table and joined her there, sliding a comforting arm around her waist. “Are you okay?”

Catra nodded, wiping the tears away with a flannel sleeve. “I just want to do right by you...y’know? You’re so good and I’m….I don’t know what I am. I want to be better.”

“Catra, you’re already great? And there’s always room for growth and improvement in everyone- I want to do my best for you too.” Adora smiled and squeezed her girlfriend’s side, an infectious grin spreading across her face. 

“God this is embarrassing…” Catra laughed and wiped some snot from her nose with the back of her hand. “Can...can we pretend this never happened?”

“What never happened?” Adora took a big bite out of her burger and grinned at the musician. 

Catra shook her head with a grin, looking down at the untouched grilled cheese. “I do want to start being more open though...I want you to know me.”

“Then let’s start small!” Adora spoke through a particularly atrociously-sized mouthful of cheeseburger. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Red.” said Catra, taking a small bite out of her own food with a soft smile. “How about you?”

“Blue!” The athlete grinned. “Favorite season?”

“Fall. You?”

“Me too!”

Catra felt herself smile as the hand around her waist jolted in excitement. 

“Favorite superhero! 3...2...1...Go!”

“Supergirl!”

“Shego.”

Both paused to look at each other in disgust. 

“Catra- Shego isn’t a hero at all!”

“She’s hot. Supergirl is boring!”  
  


“No she’s not! ...she’s cool…” The blonde pouted at her girlfriend.

“Adora, I’m not saying Supergirl is cool just because you’re making that face at me.”

The athlete opened her eyes as wide as possible.

“Adora- no. Stop that.”

She blinked.

“It’s not working.”

The look continued. 

“Oh my God- Adora- it’s not work-!”

Without warning, Adora scooped the whipped cream off the top of their shared shake and whacked Catra in the nose with it.

“...wh...God, you really woke up and chose violence today, huh?”

“Oh my God, Catra, I’m so sorry, I have like...hilariously bad impulse control and I-”

Catra bonked her forehead into Adora’s, equally distributing whipped cream and chaos. 

“I choose violence every morning.” Catra grinned, pressing their foreheads together tightly. 

Adora was overcome. “You’re terrifying.” 

  
  
  
  
  


They laughed as they wiped the whipped cream off of each other, Adora apologizing all the while, and finished their food with a somewhat tamer conversation. Catra paid and the two made their way back to Adora’s truck, the brunette still limping slightly from the week’s injury. The rain had picked up again, this time beating hard on the roof of Adora’s pickup. Catra muttered something under her breath about the rain and her hair as Adora turned the folk music back on and pulled out onto the now dark two-lane road. 

After a few minutes of idle conversation and navigating in the dark, Adora turned down a bumpy, gravel road and pulled to a stop in front of a large lake. The water shone just as it had the last time, lightning streaking across the sky and her mirror like giant cracks.

“Well isn’t this sentimental?” Catra cocked her head and grinned, an eyebrow raised at her girlfriend. 

“Shut up.” Adora laughed. “C’mere.” 

Catra flashed a smile and leaned over to rest her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“Next week we just do this all over again, huh?” said the brunette, gazing off at the lake.

The blonde nodded. “It always feels different though- every day is a new day.”

“That it is.” Catra shifted all of her weight onto Adora with a content sigh. “Now we’ve got each other though.”

Adora snorted. “But at what cost?”

The musician sat up and gave the other counselor an almost betrayed look.

“ _Every_ morning with the Pacer test audio-!”

“YOU LIKE ME FOR WHO I AM! PACER TEST AUDIO AND ALL!” 

“Did I _ever_ say that?” 

The two paused, barely an inch apart. 

“You don’t have to.” Catra leaned forward with a grin, cupping the athlete’s face in her hands and pulling her into a kiss. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The sound of truck wheels crunching slowly over gravel pierced softly through the still morning. Glimmer and Mermista were seated on the lodge porch, half asleep and coffee in hands, watching the slow-moving fog and waiting. Adora and Catra’s loud whispers and giggles echoed softly from the parking lot, the sounds of their footsteps fading slowly away as the two hastened back towards their cabins. 

“You owe me twenty bucks.” Mermista said with a grin.

“Fuck!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I left myself for a clue of how to end this was "Catra and Adora listen to Sk8er boi- Adora is confused"- so past me is a dick.
> 
> Anyways yeah I've been up since 7:30 and I wrote this after a hilariously long and groggy shift sooo hats off to absolutely no proofreading and being cracked out on sleep deprivation.
> 
> It's finally over. Goodbye forever. 
> 
> :)

**Author's Note:**

> I literally wrote this at 3am I am so sorry. I have also literally never written fanfiction before in my LIFE bc I told myself I would never. Turns out I just really love these lesbians THAT much. If you like it- please tell me. I'm an attention whore. If you didn't like it, dm me and we'll duke it out in the nearest Wendy's parking lot.


End file.
